Abstract

Background: Spinal cord intramedullary lipomas are rare and commonly associated with spinal dysraphism and account for 2% of intramedullary tumors, while lipomas not associated with spinal dysraphism are even less frequent, accounting for 1% of cases. Most of the intradural lipomas are subpial and not intramedullary.

Objective: We aim to provide a summary of the pathology, clinical presentation, and management strategies of true giant thoracic intramedullary lipoma without dysraphism with review of the literature.

Case presentation: We report a case of a patient with giant thoracic intramedullary lipoma who presented with paraparesis and bladder dysfunction. There were not imaging studies that evidenced dysraphism. The patient underwent surgery and diagnosis was confirmed histopathological. Postoperatively, neurological symptoms improved in this case.

Keywords: Intramedullary Lipoma; Thoracic Spine Lipoma; Dysraphism

Abbreviations: MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging; CUSA: Cavitron Ultrasonic Surgical Aspirator; Gad: Gadolinium