title: [Elusive thoracic spine tumour. Report of an exceptional case and literature review].
abstract: Elusive tumours in the spine, most of them schwannomas of the cauda equina, have been reported very rarely. We present the case of a woman with a preoperative radiological diagnosis of schwannoma at D10 level in whom a laminectomy was performed to remove the tumour. Although the laminectomy was correctly positioned, there was no tumour upon opening the dura and the laminectomy had to be extended cephalad to find and remove the tumour. Mobile intradural extramedullary spinal tumours, the so-called «elusive tumours», occur very rarely, and it is exceptional when they are located in the thoracic spine. Knowing preoperatively which tumour is going to behave in this way is almost impossible. However, in the reported cases there are common features such as symptoms changing with different body positions, small tumour size and weak attachment to nearby structures. Neurosurgeons must be able to resolve this situation when confronted with a negative correctly-positioned laminectomy.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neurocirugía, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Badajoz, Badajoz, España. Electronic address: marcosbotana1980@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Botana-Fernández
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neurocirugía, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Badajoz, Badajoz, España.
authors.forename: José Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cabezudo-Artero
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neurocirugía, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Badajoz, Badajoz, España.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Royano-Sánchez
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neurocirugía, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Badajoz, Badajoz, España.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: García-Moreno
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Radiología, Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Asturias, España.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Murias-Quintana
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neurocirugía, Hospital Universitario San Pedro de Alcántara, Cáceres, España.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ortega-Martínez
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007796:Laminectomy; D008875:Middle Aged; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae
keywords: Dorsal neurinoma; Elusive; Elusivo; Espinal; Laminectomy; Laminectomía; Mobile; Móvil; Neurinoma; Schwannoma; Spinal