TITLE:
Type IV Aggressive and Symptomatic Vertebral Hemangioma
AUTHORS:
Kawtar Nassar, Wafae Rachidi, Saadia Janani, Ouafa Mkinsi
KEYWORDS:
Vertebral Haemangioma, Extension, Radiotherapy, Ethanol Embolization, Surgery
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Rheumatology and Autoimmune Diseases,
Vol.5 No.3,
August
25,
2015
ABSTRACT: Vertebral hemangiomas (VHs) are benign tumours with rich vasculature. They are the most common tumours of the spine with an estimated incidence of 10% - 12% of the population. Despite its high incidence, they are often asymptomatic and only 0.9% - 1.2% are symptomatic. They may also be aggressive and are characterised by bone expansion, extra osseous extension of the tumour, disturbance of local blood flow and, in rare cases, compression fractures. We report a 59-year-old woman, presented with back pain after falling from standing height. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed lumbar spine vertebral fractures and T12 osteolytic lesion with spinal canal extension, concurring to VH type IV, according to Tomita’s surgical classification of spinal. Embolization, posterior decompression and fixation were performed followed by postoperative radiotherapy. Her symptoms were resolved immediately without recurrence after 6 mouths.