title: Cordectomy for syringobulbo-myelia with sleep apnea secondary to a spinal extramedullary tumor: case report.
abstract: The case of a 40-year-old man with syringobulbo-myelia secondary to an unresectable spinal extramedullary tumor is described. Fifteen years previously, the patient had undergone a laminectomy of T8 through T12 for a "benign" spinal cord tumor at another hospital and had become paraplegic; the tumor (neurinoma) had been neglected for 12 years. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a large thoracolumbar spinal tumor with syringobulbo-myelia. Polysomnography showed central-, peripheral-, and mixed-type sleep apneas. After the failure of an attempted syringoperitoneal shunt, cordectomy at the level of T6 was performed with a good result. The mechanisms of the formation of syringomyelia and sleep apnea secondary to a caudal spinal extramedullary tumor are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Kanagawa Rehabilitation Center, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tokoro
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chiba
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yagishita
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kunimi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000209:etiology*; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000601:surgery; D013595:Syringomyelia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery