Preoperative stent placement for intradural vertebral artery stenosis from a rare xanthogranuloma. Case report

In this report, the authors discuss a novel use of intradural vertebral artery (VA) stent placement to protect a tumor-encased vessel from injury during lesion resection. The tumor was a rare foramen magnum region xanthogranuloma and a component of Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD). This 64-year-old man presented with large masses encasing and compressing the intracranial segments of each VA. Preoperatively, a left VA stent was placed to protect the arterial wall during resection of the tumor. Histopathological study results on the subtotally resected mass were consistent with xanthogranuloma, a rare benign histiocytic tumor frequently occurring in patients with ECD. Further radiographic evaluation in the patient revealed an osteolytic lesion of the eleventh thoracic vertebra supporting the diagnosis of ECD disease. Based on this case study, the authors recommend the following: 1) tumor-encased vessels can be protected preoperatively by stent placement to assist with tumor debulking; and 2) patients diagnosed with a xanthogranuloma should be evaluated for multisystem involvement consistent with ECD.