INTRAMEDULLARY THORACIC MENINGIOMA: A RARE CASE REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Only a few cases of intramedullary meningiomas in the cervical and thoracic region have been reported in the literature. We present a rare case of intramedullary meningioma in the lower thoracic region. A 68-year-old woman with complaints of back pain, gait disturbance, and paresthesias in both lower extremities for 4 months was admitted to our institution. Initially, she presented with weakness in her legs that gradually deteriorated over time. The patient had been operated on for breast cancer 2 years prior to the onset of current complaints. The neurological examination revealed spastic inferior paraparesis (McCormick grade IV), hypoesthesia below Th10 dermatome, bowel and bladder disturbances. Magnetic resonance imaging of the thoracic spine demonstrated intramedullary tumor that was hypointense on T1 and T2-weighted images but showed homogenous enhancement after gadolinium administration. After gross total resection, the histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of atypical intramedullary meningioma. CONCLUSION: The intramedullary meningiomas are extremely rare, but they should not be excluded from the differential diagnosis, especially in cases of intramedullary tumors with homogenous enhancement on magnetic resonance imaging. The best treatment strategy is gross total removal of the tumor.