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Spinal dermoid ruptures rare but detectable with MRI
Spinal dermoid tumors are rare, and most patients with these ruptures are asymptomatic; however, MRI has been determined to be the tool of choice for diagnosis, according to a study.
Researchers analyzed three cases of lumbar spinal dermoid cysts with asymptomatic rupture and migration of free fat droplets into the central canal. Patients ranged from ages 19 to 55, and all had fat droplets in the central canal. Two patients also had fat droplets in the subarachnoid space.
Postoperative MRI was available for only one of the patients, but the researchers were able to observe the persistence of fat droplets in the central canal at up to 10 months postoperatively. This finding suggests that such patients warrant close long-term follow-up, according to the researchers.
“MRI is the investigation of choice to diagnose the condition and to determine the extent of distribution of ruptured content into the central canal and subarachnoid space,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.