title: Postoperative recovery of complete sudden paraplegia due to lumbar schwannoma. Case report.
abstract: The authors present a rare case of acute complete paraplegia due to a lumbar schwannoma. The clinical presentation, magnetic resonance imaging features, and management strategy are discussed. A 29 year-old man presented with acute complete paraplegia and bladder and bowel incontinence. He had a history of stable back pain and a 4-year history of lower-extremity numbness bilaterally. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an enhancing extraaxial mass filling the spinal canal over two segments below the conus medullaris. An L1-3 laminectomy was performed and the tumor was completely removed. Pathological evaluation showed features characteristic of a schwannoma. The patient regained almost complete motor function after 6 months. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of acute complete paraplegia secondary to lumbar schwannoma. Possible mechanisms of this occurrence are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery Padjadjaran University, Bandung, Indonesia.
authors.forename: Tjokorda
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mahadewa
authors.forename: Harsan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Harsan
authors.forename: Setyowidi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nugroho
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bernstein
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D001416:Back Pain / Q000209:etiology; D005242:Fecal Incontinence; D006801:Humans; D007796:Laminectomy; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000209:etiology*; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome