title: Tumoral calcinosis of the cervical spine in a dialysis patient. Case report and review of the literature.
abstract: The authors present a case of tumoral calcinosis (TC) in a patient with chronic renal insufficiency. The clinical course, imaging features and microscopic findings are detailed. A 60-year-old woman with a 4-year history of hemodialysis presented with a painful mass in the right posterior cervical triangle. The neuroimaging revealed polycystic mass bulging from the C3-C5 facet joints and lamina on the right. The majority of cystic mass was excised and microscopic features of the specimen were consistent with TC. Tumoral calcinosis is a rare disease characterized by calcium salt deposits in periarticular soft tissue, which enlarge to form tumor-like cystic masses containing chalky calcareous material. TC is typically seen around large joints but rarely in the spine. Review of past publications provided six cases of TC involving the spine in dialyzed patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 7 of the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Professor Leszek Giec Upper Silesian Medical Centre, Katowice, Poland. Electronic address: krzysztofzapalowicz1@wp.pl.
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zapałowicz
authors.affiliation: The Unit of Diagnostic Imaging, Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 7 of the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Professor Leszek Giec Upper Silesian Medical Centre, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Bartłomiej
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stasiów
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathomorphology, Medical University of Silesia, School of Medicine in Katowice, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ciupińska-Kajor
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 7 of the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Professor Leszek Giec Upper Silesian Medical Centre, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Piwowarski
mesh_terms: D002114:Calcinosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014511:Uremia / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy
keywords: Cervical spine; Computed tomography; Magnetic resonance imaging; Surgical treatment; Tumoral calcinosis