Intramedullary cavernoma

Abstract

The cavernoma is a vascular malformation made of well-circumscribed agglomeration of pseudo-capillaries. Bone marrow localization is rare and accounts for about 5% of spinal cord vascular lesions. Clinical symptomatology is marked by progressive bone marrow compression syndrome. The diagnosis is strongly evoked in magnetic resonance imaging and confirmed by histology. The management is essentially surgical. We report a case of bone marrow cavernoma in a 38-year-old man seen in consultation, paraplegic for 2 weeks. The spinal cord MRI revealed a lesion opposite D11, evoking a cavernoma. The patient was operated on with total removal of the lesion; histology confirmed the diagnosis of cavernoma. The immediate post-operative follow-up was marked by the partial recovery of the deficit. We discuss, through this clinical case, the clinical, radiological and especially therapeutic aspects of the medullary cavernoma.

Keywords

• cavernoma
• microsurgery
• spinal cord