title: Langerhans' cell histiocytosis involving posterior elements of the dorsal spine: An unusual cause of extradural spinal mass in an adult.
abstract: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a clonal proliferation of Langerhans cells occurring as an isolated lesion or as part of a systemic proliferation. It is commoner in children younger than 10 years of age with sparing of the posterior elements in more than 95% of cases. We describe a case of LCH in an adult female presenting with paraplegia. MRI revealed a well-defined extradural contrast enhancing mass at D2-D4 vertebral level involving the posterior elements of spine. D2-5 laminectomy with excision of lesion was performed which lead to marked improvement of patients neurological status. Histopathology was suggestive of eosinophilic granuloma. We describe the case, discuss its uniqueness and review the literature on this rare tumor presentation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, T.N. Medical College and B.Y.L. Nair Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Devendra K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Tyagi
authors.forename: Srikant
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Balasubramaniam
authors.forename: Hemant V
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Savant
keywords: Dorsal spine; in adult patient; langerhans cell histiocytosis; posterior elements of spine