Spinal cord damage after resection of destructive spinal lipoma resembling liposarcoma: case report

A 39-year-old inpatient at a tumor orthopedic department with a history of a chondrosarcoma in the scapula presented with a destructive tumorous lesion in the staging computed tomography (CT). After ambiguous results in CT-guided biopsy and an open biopsy, a surgical removal of a tumorous lesion was performed. The histological findings showed a lipoma of the spine. Intraosseous lipomas with predisposition to pathological fracture or compression of the spinal cord with neurological symptoms should be removed. We report a case in which the patient presented with complete paraplegia due to an edema in the spinal cord immediately after removal surgery. The necessity of resection of a spinal lipoma with postoperative spinal cord damage needs to be discussed. To our knowledge, this case is one of the first to demonstrate that the diagnosis of tumors of the vertebra should be carefully evaluated and possible spinal cord damage as a complication should be kept in mind upon deciding on further therapies and interventions.