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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Asian J Neurosurg 2019; 14(01): 245-248
DOI: 10.4103/ajns.AJNS_206_17
Case Report

Acute paraplegia revealing a hemorrhagic cauda equina paraganglioma

Khalil Ghedira
Department of Neurosurgery, Medicine School of Tunis, National Institute of Neurology, University of Tunis-El Manar, Tunis
,
Nidhal Matar
Department of Neurosurgery, Medicine School of Tunis, National Institute of Neurology, University of Tunis-El Manar, Tunis
,
Sofiene Bouali
Department of Neurosurgery, Medicine School of Tunis, National Institute of Neurology, University of Tunis-El Manar, Tunis
,
Alia Zehani
1   Department of Anatomic Pathology, Rabta Hospital, Medicine School of Tunis, University of Tunis-El Manar, Tunis
,
Hafedh Jemel
Department of Neurosurgery, Medicine School of Tunis, National Institute of Neurology, University of Tunis-El Manar, Tunis
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Cauda equina paragangliomas are rare neuroendocrine benign and slow-growing tumors. Acute paraplegia, occurring because of sudden intratumoral hemorrhage, represents an extremely rare clinical picture of this disease. We report the case of a 64-year-old male presenting with a 5-day acute lower back pain, sciatica, and leg weakness. Spinal imaging showed an intradural mass of the cauda equina region and an emergent surgical treatment was achieved. The lesion was removed “en bloc,” and subarachnoid blood was noticed during surgery. The postoperative course was uneventful, with complete regression of pain and progressive motor recovery. The histological study revealed typical microscopic and immunohistochemical features of paragangliomas.

Key-words:

Acute - cauda equina - paraganglioma - paraplegia

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Publication History

Article published online:
09 September 2022

© 2019. Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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