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Updated: Oct 5, 2025
Intraoperative Ultrasound in Spinal Surgery
Published on: August 17, 2022
Primary extra-skeletal Ewing's sarcoma presenting as an epidural Soft Tissue Lesion causing cauda equina syndrome in
Abhishek Soni1, Shaffaf Abdul Kareem1, Manoj Kumar Ramachandraiah1
1Spine Care Centre, Manipal Hospital, 98, HAL-Airport Road, Bangalore, 560017, India.
Introduction:
Primary epidural Ewing's sarcoma in the lumbar spinal canal is a rare condition and very few cases are reported in the literature.
Case Report:
A fifteen-year-old girl presented with low backache associated with sudden onset of weakness and radiculopathy of both lower limbs for 10 days, bowel and bladder involvement for 3 days. Physical examination revealed grade 0/5 power and absent sensations below L4 dermatomal level and perianal region (ASIA A). Plantar reflex was mute bilaterally. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an extradural lesion within the spinal canal at the L3-L4 level. The patient underwent an emergency posterior decompression, extradural lesion excision and instrumented stabilization L3-L5. Based on histopathological examination of the tissue specimen, we diagnosed the lesion as Ewing sarcoma.
Discussion:
Primary extra-skeletal Ewing's sarcoma presenting as an epidural lesion in the lumbar spine is a rare clinical entity that should be considered as a differential for spinal epidural lesions. Treatment for such cases is almost always an early surgical intervention due to its rapid onset and compressive neurological symptoms. Wide decompression with instrumented fusion and excision of the lesion followed by chemo and radiotherapy are recommended.
