A Rare Case Report of Thoracic Epidural Angiolipoma During Pregnancy: Differential Diagnosis and Treatment

Abstract

Introduction. Spinal angiolipomas are benign tumors composed of adipocytes and vascular elements. There is a limited number of cases involving pregnant patients in the literature. Mostly located in the thoracic region, these tumors are usually expected to be seen in the fifth decade. To the best of our knowledge, we present the youngest reported case of a pregnant patient with angiolipoma. Case Report. We present a case of a 24-year-old pregnant woman who was referred to our clinic with complaints of gait disturbance and numbness in her legs. Paraplegia, hyperactive deep tendon reflexes, and hypoesthesia up to the umbilicus level were the first findings. Electromyographic tests, including F-waves, were normal. Spinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a thoracic spinal extradural tumor compressing the spinal cord posteriorly. Total tumor resection and histologic examination confirmed the diagnosis of angiolipoma. Postoperatively, the patient experienced rapid improvements in neurological deficits, with complete recovery in the following days. Conclusions. Spinal angiolipomas are very rare in pregnancy. At the time of initial admission, the symptoms and findings may mimic acute polyneuropathies and myelitis. Spinal MRI is essential to localize the lesion. Early angiolipoma removal may result in complete recovery and the procedure is safe and applicable even in the early postpartum period.

Keywords

• angiolipoma
• pregnancy
• paraplegia
• spinal tumor
• extradural tumor