title: Tethered cervical spinal cord due to a hamartomatous stalk in a young adult. Case report.
abstract: The authors report on an unusual case of a congenital tethered cervical spinal cord in young man who presented with progressive tetraparesis. Neuroradiological evaluation of the spine revealed a discrete exophitic cervical spinal cord mass with a stalk of tissue that extended from the mass and terminated in the muscle tissue. The patient underwent a laminectomy with intradural exploration. A stalklike lesion was discovered and excised. Pathological examination showed that the stalk was formed of hamartomatous tissue. The patient improved following surgery, which suggested that tethering of the cervical spinal cord was responsible for his symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurosurgery, and Human Pathology and Oncology, University of Florence, Firenze, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Perrini
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scollato
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Guidi
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Benedetto
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Buccoliero
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Di Lorenzo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006222:Hamartoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007796:Laminectomy / Q000379:methods; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D010291:Paresis / Q000209:etiology; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed