Comparative Management of Spine Pathology

Spontaneous CSF leak

Introduction Spontaneous intracranial hypotension is often caused by structural defects in the dura within the spinal canal or along the nerve root sleeve. Although rare, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) venous fistula has also been recognized recently as a cause of spontaneous…

Sacral chordoma

Introduction Chordoma is a malignant tumor of the bone and should be always considered when a midline tumor of the axial skeleton is found. The majority of chordomas affect the sacral region, representing 49% of all the cases. There is…

Cervical chordoma

Introduction Chordomas are uncommon malignant neoplasms of the bone that can arise anywhere along the central nervous system. These tumors originate from persisting remnants of the notochord, and their behavior is aggressive due to their invasiveness and high recurrence rates.…

Thoracic intradural extramedullary lesion

Introduction Intradural extramedullary thoracic spinal cord tumors are rare entities that cause thoracic myelopathy and occasionally radiculopathy. These tumors occur in 5 to 10 per 100,000 persons. The two most common intradural extramedullary pathological diagnoses are schwannomas and meningiomas. Schwannomas…

Foramen magnum meningioma

Introduction Foramen magnum meningiomas comprise a rare group of neoplasms that affect primarily the lower cranial nerves and cervico-medullary junction. Meningiomas located on this region represent 1.8%–3.2 % of all meningiomas and 8.6 % of all spinal meningiomas. Although infrequent,…

Glioblastoma

Introduction Primary glioblastoma (GBM) of the spinal cord is a rare condition that contributes to just 1.5% of all spinal tumors. This neoplasm most commonly affects the cervical spine or the cervico-thoracic junction in at least 60% of the cases…

Metastatic lesion to the cervico-thoracic junction

Introduction The cervical spine is the least common site affected by metastatic tumors of the vertebral column, but despite this, the presence of space occupying lesions in this region may cause severe symptomatology and morbidity. Additional involvement of the upper…

Cervico-medullary junction lesion

Introduction Intramedullary spinal cord lesions represent a diagnostic challenge. Lesions occupying the cervico-medullary junction are rare entities, and the actual prevalence has not been reported. Patients who present with myelopathic symptoms and findings on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) typically exhaust…

Thoracolumbar intradural lesion

Introduction Spinal tumors account for up to 15% of all tumors in the neuroaxis. Based on their anatomical location, the spinal tumors are classified as extradural, intradural extramedullary, or intradural intramedullary (spinal cord tumors). Intradural tumors account for 3% of…

Thoracic intramedullary lesions

Introduction The thoracic spine, which includes attachments to the rib cage, is one of the most challenging regions for surgical interventions. Intramedullary cord thoracic lesions are not common, where intramedullary spinal cord tumors (IMSCTs) only account for 20% to 30%…