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Updated: Aug 19, 2026
Intraoperative Ultrasound in Spinal Surgery
Published on: August 17, 2022
An Intramedullary Osteolipoma of the Upper Thoracic Spinal Cord: A Case Report
Kota Kojima1, Akio Iwanami, Shuji Mikami
1Departments of Orthopedic Surgery (K.K., A.I., K.I., M.M., and M.N.) and Pathology (S.M.), Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Case:
We present a rare case of an intramedullary osteolipoma without any extramedullary connections or coexisting spinal dysraphism. A 48-year-old woman presented with back pain and pain around the lateral aspect of the left thigh. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a heterogeneous hyperintense and hypointense region on T1 and T2-weighted imaging. A cavernous hemangioma was suspected, and the patient was admitted for surgical resection. The histological diagnosis was an intramedullary osteolipoma.
Conclusion:
MRI with fat suppression and computed tomography are recommended for the diagnosis of an intramedullary osteolipoma, but a definitive diagnosis requires histological examination.
