Open AccessPaediatric calcified intramedullary schwannoma at conus: A common tumor in a vicarious location
Author(s) -
Aniruddha Tekkatte Jagannatha,
Krishna C. Joshi,
Shilpa Rao,
Umesh Srikantha,
Ravi Gopal Varma,
Anita Mahadevan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of pediatric neurosciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.247
H-Index - 18
eISSN - 1998-3948
pISSN - 1817-1745
DOI - 10.4103/1817-1745.199474
Subject(s) - medicine , conus , schwannoma , laminotomy , neurofibromatosis , conus medullaris , intramedullary rod , differential diagnosis , lesion , spinal cord , surgery , radiology , magnetic resonance imaging , pathology , anatomy , laminectomy , psychiatry
Spinal schwannomas are commonly intradural extramedullary in location. As Schwann cells are not common in the central nervous system, intramedullary schwannomas are a rare entity. In adults, an estimated sixty cases have been reported in English literature. They are rarer in children (less than ten cases), and preoperative diagnosis becomes a prerogative in achieving total excision. Cervical cord is a common location and less commonly they occur in the conus. We report a rare case of calcified conus intramedullary schwannoma in a child without neurofibromatosis, who presented with conus-cauda syndrome of 1-year duration. Literature has been reviewed regarding its origin, pathophysiology, radiological features, and surgical management. This child underwent laminotomy and subtotal resection of the lesion. Histopathologically, tumor had typical features of schwannoma and was positive for S-100 immunoperoxidase. We believe that schwannoma needs to be considered in the preoperative differential diagnosis of a conus tumor in children as complete excision is possible in these benign tumors, thus affecting a cure.