Open AccessMelanotic schwannoma of spine: Illustration of two cases with diverse clinical presentation and outcome
Author(s) -
Raj S. Chandran,
Anil Kumar Patil,
Rajmohan Bhanu Prabhakar,
Krishna Balachandran
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
asian journal of neurosurgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2248-9614
DOI - 10.4103/ajns.ajns_353_16
Subject(s) - medicine , schwannoma , presentation (obstetrics) , neural crest , intramedullary rod , lumbar , surgery , radiology , pathology , embryo , biology , microbiology and biotechnology
Melanotic schwannomas (MS) are rare variants of schwannomas the occurrence of which is described in case reports only. They usually arise from posterior spinal nerve roots and less commonly from other cells of neural crest origin. Although they are relatively benign tumors in young, aggressive behavior is reported. They occur as isolated tumors or as part of a syndrome named Carney complex. We try to describe the pathology, diagnosis, management, and prognosis of MSs in two different cases: one cervical intramedullary with no recurrence on 5-year follow-up and the other one extramedullary in lumbar region with early recurrence and aggressive course. A brief review of literature is done.