title: Osteoma in the upper cervical spine with spinal cord compression.
abstract: Osteoma is a common benign tumor. It occurs dominantly at the skull bone. Outside skull osteoma is rare, and primary intra-canal osteoma is extremely rare. To the author's knowledge, only 14 cases of osteomas of the spine had been reported, in which only seven cases were in English literature. The authors reported two rare cases of intra-canal osteoma of the upper cervical spine with cord compression. Included are pertinent history, physical examination, rontgenographic evaluation before and after operation, surgical interventions, pathological study, and outcome. The available literature is also reviewed. On systemic examination and rontgenographic study, these two cases were found to have bone tumor in the upper cervical canal. Surgical interventions were performed, one with an en bloc excision, the other with a subtotal excision. The pathological study demonstrated a diagnosis of osteoma. After a follow-up with 20 and 15 months, the clinical symptoms of both cases significantly improved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, No. 406 Jiefangnan Road, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300211, China. wangwwb@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Wenbao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Linghua
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Ronghua
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Heyuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D019299:Decompression, Surgical; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010016:Osteoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed