Extramedullary Conus Ependymoma Involving a Lumbar Nerve Root with Filum Terminale Attachment

Purpose In the current report, we describe a case of an extramedullary ependymoma involving a lumbar nerve root near conus medullaris. Spinal ependymomas commonly present as intramedullary tumors in the cervical or thoracic cord or as tumors arising from the conus medullaris or the filum terminale. In this case, we showed an extramedullary conus ependymoma involving a lumbar nerve root with filum terminale attachment. Case Presentation A 69-year-old woman presented with lower back pain, but without sensory disturbance or motor weakness in her lower extremities. Clinical Assessment Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an intradural mass at T12–L1 at the conus medullaris, which was totally resected. Histopathology revealed a non-myxopapillary ependymoma (WHO grade 2). Postoperatively, the patient did well and displayed no neurological deficits. Moreover, no radiotherapy was required. Conclusions This report documented a rare case of intradural extramedullary ependymoma located at the conus medullaris, involving the lumbar nerve root, and attached to the filum terminale. Although extramedullary ependymomas at this region are more frequently classified as myxopapillary, histopathological examination revealed this tumor as a non-myxopapillary ependymoma

Syringomyelia Associated with Spinal Arachnoiditis Treated by Partial Arachnoid Dissection and Syrinx-Far Distal Subarachnoid Shunt

The authors describe a new modified surgical approach to minimize the postoperative recurrence of a syrinx after surgery to treat syringomyelia associated with spinal adhesive arachnoiditis in two cases. Both patients presented with progressive gait disturbance without any remarkable history, and spinal magnetic resonance imaging revealed a syrinx and broad irregular disappearance of the subarachnoid space and/or deformity of the cord. We successfully performed a partial arachnoid dissection and syrinx-far distal subarachnoid shunt for both cases