title: Clinical and imaging findings in patients with aggressive spinal hemangioma requiring surgical treatment.
abstract: Vertebral hemangiomas (VHs) are frequently asymptomatic lesions found incidentally during investigations for other spinal problems. Symptomatic VHs are less common, and there are few reports of compressive VHs in the literature. VHs with aggressive behavior present with low signal intensity on T1-weighted and high signal intensity on T2-weighted MRI. We present a case series of four patients with compressive VH, all of whom were neurologically compromised. Each of the four patients underwent preoperative arterial embolization followed by surgical treatment of their VHs. All patients recovered normal motor function after surgery. At follow-up (average 53 months), one patient had a recurrent tumor requiring reoperation and radiotherapy. Although it is rare, aggressive VH can be a devastating condition. Total surgical resection or subtotal resection with radiotherapy may be warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Marcoleta 352, Santiago, Chile. jurrutia@med.puc.cl
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Urrutia
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Postigo
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Larrondo
authors.forename: Aliro San
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006391:Hemangioma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013125:Spinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy; D013131:Spine / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D055815:Young Adult