title: Mass effect in the thoracic spine from remnant bone wax: an MR imaging pitfall.
abstract: Bone wax used in neurosurgical procedures is a rare cause of complications after surgery. We present a patient who developed paraplegia following thoracic spine surgery. A subsequent MR imaging study demonstrated a signal void that resembled postoperative air but appeared to cause cord compression and proved after a second surgery to represent bone wax. Recognizing the MR imaging and CT characteristics of bone wax is important to prevent mistaking it for residual air in postoperative imaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Eskey
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Mamourian
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D010168:Palmitates / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology*; D014885:Waxes / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D010168:Palmitates; D014885:Waxes; C055480:bone wax