[Magnetic resonance imaging of lumbosacral lipomas in infants]

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was conducted on infants with lumbosacral lipomas. Based on Chapman's classification (1982), these MRIs were classified into three representative types: caudal, dorsal and transitional. As confirmed by intraoperative observations, the relation between the lipomas and the spinal cord was clearly disclosed in the preoperative MRI. However, in the dorsal type, the intraoperative view of the margin between the lipomas and spinal cord was different from the MRI findings. Postoperative MRI disclosed the existence of residual lipomas and the change in the low conus medullaris. Moreover, preoperative and postoperative changes in the hydromyelia could be observed.