A Rare Instance of Spinal Cord Cavernous Malformation With Adjacent Intramedullary Microhemorrhage

Abstract

The natural history of spinal cord cavernous malformation (SCM) may be characterized by recurrent episodes of hemorrhage resulting in a range of neurologic deficits, most of which are microhemorrhage and subsequent gliosis that can lead to progressive myelopathy. Macrohemorrhage with acute onset of symptoms is extremely rare and leads to irreversible neurologic deficits. In this article, we present an unusual case of ruptured cavernous malformation (CM) in the cervical spinal cord with large extralesional hemorrhage. The patient underwent an operation of posterior longitudinal myelotomy and had a good neurologic recovery. A histologic examination revealed the typical features of cavernous angioma.