The authors report on a 69-year-old man presenting with progressive leg weakness and gait ataxia over two years. A central intramedullary cord lesion ranging from T8-12 on MR imaging was misdiagnosed as a low-grade glioma and a biopsy was attempted followed by temporary clinical deterioration. Selective spinal angiography revealed a spinal dural arteriovenous (AV) fistula on the left L3 nerve root sheath despite the absence of pathological vessels on MR imaging. The fistula was successfully treated by microsurgical interruption of the arterialized intradural vein. The present case should remind us to include selective spinal angiography in our diagnostic work-up in patients predisposed for spinal dural AV fistula by male sex, advanced age and clinical presentation of slowly progressive sensorimotor symptoms with myelopathy on MR imaging, even in the absence of any pathological vascular structures.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-2006-933361DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

spinal dural
12
absence pathological
12
dural arteriovenous
8
arteriovenous fistula
8
pathological vessels
8
selective spinal
8
spinal angiography
8
spinal
5
delayed diagnosis
4
diagnosis spinal
4

Similar Publications

Background: Posterior laminectomy is a standard treatment for thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (TOLF), but it often leads to neurological deterioration during surgery. This study aimed to reduce iatrogenic neurological deterioration by using an S8 navigation system combined with an ultrasonic osteotome for three-dimensional real-time dynamic visualization decompression.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients who underwent laminectomy and internal fixation for TOLF in our centre from January 2016 to January 2023.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pneumocephalus and Pneumorrhachis Following Titanium Rib Implant: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Curr Med Imaging

January 2025

Consultant in Emergency Medicine, WIC Clinic, Primary Health Care Corporation, Doha, Qatar.

Introduction: Pneumocephalus and pneumorrhachis are rare postoperative complications, commonly occurring within a few days to months after spinal surgery. They are very rarely reported after thoracic surgeries. This case highlights a unique presentation in the emergency department involving headache and vomiting caused by late complications following thoracic surgery with a titanium rib implant.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Triple spinal dural arteriovenous fistula.

BMJ Case Rep

January 2025

Neurosurgery, ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda, Milano, Italy.

Spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (SDAVFs) are the most common type of spinal vascular malformations. Multiple SDAVFs are unusual and can occur either synchronously or metachronously, as reported in the literature. We report on the unusual case of a woman with three separate SDAVFs, which were surgically treated within the same setting; the postoperative course was characterised by unexplained repeated haematoma formation within the surgical sites.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Facet joint tropism in degenerative lumbar scoliosis: a retrospective case-control study.

Spine Deform

January 2025

Gastroenterology and Hepatology Research Center, Institute of Basic and Clinical Physiology Sciences, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.

Background: To investigate the association between lumbar degenerative scoliosis and the dural sac cross-sectional area (DSCA), the lumbar canal anterior-posterior (LCAP) diameter, and the neural foraminal cross-sectional area (NFCA) in relation to facet joint tropism (FJT).

Methods: In a retrospective case-control study, we analyzed data from 160 patients referred for lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) between January 2020 and December 2022. Cobb's angle on anteroposterior lumbosacral X-ray is served to identify the presence of degenerative lumbar scoliosis-Cobb's angle exceeding 10 degrees-, and axial T2W MRI is implemented to evaluate facet joint angles and tropism-defined as a difference exceeding 10 degrees between the facet joint angles at each level-, DSCA, LCAP, and NFCA.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Prevalence and characteristics of microspurs in patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension compared to the general population.

AJNR Am J Neuroradiol

January 2025

From the Department of Neurosurgery (D.N., L.H., J.G., T.P., R.T.S., A.R., C.M.J.); Department of Neuroradiology (T.D., E.I.P.), Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, and Department of Neurology (C.S.), Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. Department of Neurosurgery (J.B.), Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.

Background And Purpose: In patients diagnosed with spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH), microspurs are considered the culprit lesion in most ventral dural leaks (type I). The imaging characteristics of discogenic spurs, and their prevalence in the general population has not been reported in the literature.

Materials And Methods: This observational case-control study was conducted comparing the prevalence and characteristics of discogenic microspurs between SIH patients with a type I leak treated at a tertiary hospital between 2013 and 2023 and an age-and sex matched cohort of trauma patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!