An infant with an intradural lipoma of the cervical spine extending into the posterior fossa.
BACKGROUND
Intradural lipomas of the cervical spine are very rare. These tumours show no association with spinal dysraphism. We describe an infant with cervical spinal cord lipoma. Surgical decompression of the cord resolved all neurologic deficits.


METHODS
An 8 month old female infant presented with retarded development of motor function in the limbs, in addition to dysphagia. Computed tomography identified a tumour of fat density that extended from the medulla to C7. Magnetic resonance imaging showed hyperintensity on both T1- and T2-weighted images. A fat-suppression sequence demonstrated an area of signal enhancement in the dorsal portion of the tumour following administration of gadolinium. The adjacent spinal cord was normal. Partial removal of the tumour was performed together with decompressive laminoplasty. The enhancing region proved to be fibrous tissue. Motor development resumed in the week following operation.


CONCLUSIONS
Retarded motor development was the main manifestation of this infant's rare spinal tumour. Neuroimaging was of considerable diagnostic value; in particular, fat-suppression magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated details of the tumour and surrounding structures. Decompressive laminoplasty and laminectomy with partial removal of the tumour was effective in reversing clinical deficits.
Kai
Yasutoshi
Y
Department of Neurosurgery, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan.
Amano
Toshiyuki
T
Inamura
Takanori
T
Matsushima
Toshio
T
Takamatsu
Miki
M
Kai
Erika
E
Fukui
Masashi
M
D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D003388:Cranial Fossa, Posterior; D019299:Decompression, Surgical; D004388:Dura Mater; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008067:Lipoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009192:Myelography; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery