title: Torsion of a lumbar nerve root schwannoma.
abstract: We report a very rare case of a lumbar nerve root schwannoma presenting with torsion and infarction. The patient was a 16-year-old male presenting with severe low back pain and urinary retention following an aggressive game of hockey. Subsequent MRI of the lumbar spine revealed a nonenhancing lumbar intradural lesion at the level of L3. The patient was taken to the operating room where he underwent a bilateral L2 and L3 laminectomy and gross total resection of an intradural nerve root tumor, which appeared to have undergone torsion and infarction. Subsequent histopathological examination of the surgical specimen verified the diagnosis of infarcted schwannoma. This is a unique case of lumbar nerve root schwannoma, with atypical MRI findings, presenting with infarction due to torsion of the involved nerve root.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, Vt., USA.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khoshyomn
authors.forename: Konrad N M
authors.initials: KN
authors.lastname: Barth
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Christman
authors.forename: Steven P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Braff
authors.forename: James T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D006801:Humans; D008161:Lumbosacral Region; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D018317:Nerve Sheath Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D014102:Torsion Abnormality