Spinal cord hernia after surgery for recurrent intramedullary ependymoma:a case report and literature review
HAN Wu
QI Ji
LI Bo-han
XIE Jiong
ZHANG Wei
GUO Teng-xian
Abstract：Objective To investigate the prevention and treatment of spinal cord hernia after surgery for recurrent intramedullary tumors.Methods The clinical data of a patient with recurrent intramedullary ependymoma complicated with spinal cord hernia after surgery were retrospectively analyzed,and the relevant literatures were reviewed.Results A 54-year-old female presented to the hospital with left lower limb numbness and weakness for 10 days,who underwent total resection for a intramedullary ependymoma at thoracic 8 segment(WHO grade Ⅱ)9 years ago.Contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MR images showed irregular small nodular moderate enhancement signals in the thoracic 8 spinal cord segment,suggesting tumor recurrence.The tumor was totally removed again.The neurological function suddenly deteriorated 2 days after the reoperation,and the thoracic CT showed spinal cord hernia.The emergency spinal canal decompression and dural plasty were performed,and the neurological function improved after the decompression,with residual urinary and fecal dysfunction.At the follow-up 3 months after reoperation,the patient returned to the preoperative state,but left involuntary trembling of the left lower limb,requiring crutches to assist walking.Conclusions The spinal cord hernia should be considered when patients have neurological dysfunction after resection of recurrent intramedullary tumors.Adequate decompression and dural plasty are effective treatments.
Keywords：Recurrent intramedullary ependymomaMicrosurgerySpinal cord herniaSpinal decompressionSpinal plasty
Publication Date：2024-02-25
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：4( 88-91 )