[Multiple meningiomas of thoracic spinal cord: report of two cases]

Multiple spinal meningiomas are relatively rare and account for from only 2 to 3.5% of all spinal meningiomas. Two cases of multiple meningiomas of the thoracic spinal cord were reported. Case 1. A 73-year-old woman was admitted with a 5 month history of progressive motor weakness and sensory disturbance in the legs bilaterally. Neurological findings on admission revealed paraparesis, hypesthesia and hypalgesia under the Th10 level, hyperreflexia of both legs, and urinary incontinence. Myelography and MRI revealed two intradural extramedullary lesions at the Th7 and Th10 level. Both tumors were removed completely. Histopathological examination showed psammomatous meningiomas. Case 2. A 52-year-old man was admitted with a 2 month history of progressive motor weakness and numbness of both legs. Neurological findings on admission revealed paraparesis, hypesthesia and hypalgesia under the Th10 level, hyperreflexia of both legs, and genitourinary incontinence. Lumbar myelography showed complete block at the Th9 level. MRI showed stenosis of the spinal canal at the Th8/9 level, and a deviation of the spinal cord. MRI with Gd-DTPA showed that the spinal cord was compressed by intradural extramedullary tumors. However, myelography and MRI could not detect the multiplicity of tumors. CT myelography demonstrated three separate tumors from the Th7 to the Th9. Three tumors were totally removed. Histopathologically, they were meningotheliomatous meningiomas. These cases were considered as being multiple meningiomas of the spine. Both patients showed no manifestations of von Recklinghausen's disease. The cause of the multiplicity in these cases was uncertain. Multiple spinal tumor is very difficult to diagnose because of unusual clinical symptoms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)