Intramedullary spinal cord astrolipoma: case report
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Henry E Aryan1, Steven G Imbesi, Darius K Amjadi
1Division of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Diego Medical Center, San Diego, California 92103-8893, USA. hearyan@ucsd.edu
Objective And Importance:
Reported is a case of a thoracic intramedullary astrocytoma with a lipomatous component, a so-called astrolipoma. This is the only known case of a single intraspinal astrolipoma in an otherwise healthy patient.
Clinical Presentation:
The patient was a 36-year-old woman with dorsal thoracic pain of more than 1 month's duration, mild lower extremity weakness, and incomplete sensory loss to the T10 level.
Intervention:
Magnetic resonance imaging of the thoracolumbar spine revealed a fusiform mass at the T9-T11 level. The patient underwent T9-T11 laminectomies and complete resection of the tumor. In the initial postoperative period, the patient's symptoms worsened. However, 3 months after surgery, the patient was clinically improved and was able to walk without assistance. Twelve months after surgery, imaging revealed no evidence of tumor.
Conclusion:
The current treatment plan and recommendation, assuming this tumor will behave like a low-grade glioma or lipoma, is continued radiographic surveillance after gross total resection. Reresection is recommended for tumor recurrence or significant regrowth. The long-term prognosis for astrolipoma is unknown.
