title: Pure ventral midline long segment schwannoma of the cervicodorsal spine: a case report.
abstract: Spinal intradural extramedullary schwannomas commonly occur posterolateral or anterolateral to the spinal cord. A case of a pure midline ventrally situated cervicodorsal extramedullary schwannoma in a 33-year-old female patient with subacute cord compression and sphincteric involvement is presented. Spinal MR imaging showed a C2-D3 midline ventrally situated extramedullary tumor with severe spinal cord compression. It was resected through a posterolateral approach. Histology was consistent with a schwannoma. There was a gradual improvement in left-sided spasticity but the patient had mild diaphragmatic paresis. MR imaging showed no evidence of the tumor at followup after 6 months. The radiological features, pathogenesis and surgical strategies in management of these difficult tumors are discussed and the relevant literature is briefly reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Seth G.S. Medical College & King Edward, Mumbai, India.
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mahore
authors.forename: Dattatraya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Muzumdar
authors.forename: Aadil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chagla
authors.forename: Atul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery