title: Melanotic cyst of L5 spinal root: A case report and review of literature.
abstract: Till date, 85 cases of melanotic schwannoma and 11 cases of spinal root melanoma have been reported in literature. We are reporting a case of a 45-year-old lady who presented with primary low back pain, and magnetic resonance imaging of lumbo-sacral spine showed at left L5-S1 foraminal lesion extending to the para-spinal compartment. Hemi-laminectomy, facetectomy, and excision of the lesion were done. It was primarily a cystic lesion with attachment to the exiting spinal nerve root. Histopathology of the cyst wall showed a fibro-collagenous stroma with no specific cell lining containing melanin pigment suggestive of a melanotic cyst. The patient was completely relieved of the back pain, and had no recurrence over a follow-up period of one and half years. This case is probably the first reported predominantly cystic, pigmented lesion, affecting the spinal root.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Apollo Speciality Hospital, Chennai, India.
authors.forename: Hariprakash
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chakravarthy
keywords: Melanoma; melanotic; nerve sheath tumor; paraspinal; schwannoma
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