Lumbar extradural infiltrating angiolipoma: a case report and review of 17 previously reported cases with infiltrating spinal angiolipomas

A rare case report of sacral epidural angiolipoma: Diagnosis and treatment

Background:

Spinal angiolipomas are rare benign tumors composed of mature adipose tissue and anomalous vascular channels. The sacral localization is extremely rare. To the best of our knowledge, there have been only two cases reported in the literature. Herein, we present an additional case of sacral angiolipoma.

Case Description:

We present a case of a 54-year-old woman who presented with the right lumbosciatica and distal crural weakness. Spinal MRI showed an epidural lesion at the level of L5-S1 extending to the first right sacral foramen. The patient had total resection of the tumor and the histological study concluded to an angiolipoma. The patients’ neurologic symptoms improved postoperatively and follow-up revealed no signs of tumor recurrence.

Conclusion:

Despite the rarity of sacral localization in angiolipomas, it is a diagnosis to be considered in the case of an epidural tumor with foraminal extension. Magnetic resonance imaging is important for detecting and characterizing spinal angiolipomas despite diagnosis is not always obvious. After surgical removal, the functional prognosis is generally favorable.

Thoracic Spinal Angiolipomas: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

 Spinal angiolipomas (SAs) are rare, benign tumors, representing 0.0004 to 1.2% of angiolipomas, usually located at the extradural and posterior thoracic level, with multimetameric extension.

METHODS

 A systematic literature review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The authors searched on PubMed and Scopus databases for published articles with the Mesh term "spinal angiolipoma" and pertinent associations. Language restriction to English papers was applied. The authors also reported three emblematic cases of patients who underwent surgical resection of spindle-shaped (type IA) and dumbbell-shaped (type II) SAs between 2014 and 2020.

RESULTS

 Of the 256 retrieved articles, 33 were included in the meta-analysis. These 33 studies, together with our 3 reported cases, included a total of 60 patients, 36 females (60%) and 24 males (40%), with a mean age of 53.12 ± 12.82 years (range: 12-77 years).T5 was the most represented level (22 patients). Usually, the localization of SA was extradural, with 53 patients suffering from spindle-shaped type IA SA (88.3%) and 7 patients from dumbbell-shaped type II SA (11.6%). Almost all patients underwent laminectomy (78.3%) and presented a full recovery of motor deficits (85%). Gross total removal (GTR) was performed in 93.3% of patients. The mean follow-up was of 22.71 ± 21.45 months (range: 2-80 months). There was no documented recurrence at follow-up magnetic resonance imaging in any of the patients.

CONCLUSIONS

 SAs are rare, benign tumors with a great vascular component that presents a favorable outcome. GTR is the gold standard treatment and usually an adjuvant therapy is not required. Even infiltrative lesions, which are more complex, can be treated successfully with a good prognosis. Dumbbell-shaped SAs must be differentiated from schwannomas and meningiomas, and require different surgical techniques, given the profuse bleeding associated with the attempt of debulking. En block resection is the key to treat these common benign tumors with acceptable blood loss.

Spinal angiolipoma: a report of two cases and review of the literature

Spinal angiolipomas (SALs) are extremely rare benign tumors composed of both mature fatty tissue and anomalous vascular channels. We present two cases of SALs and review the clinical presentation, radiological appearance, pathological aspects, and treatment of this distinct clinicopathological mass. The patients’ neurologic symptoms improved postoperatively and follow-up revealed no signs of tumor recurrence or neurological deficit. SAL should be considered as a differential diagnosis in patients with spinal cord compression. Magnetic resonance imaging is important for detecting and characterizing SALs. The gold standard treatment modality should be total resection.

Spinal extradural angiolipoma: a report of two cases and review of literature

Spinal extradural angiolipomas (SEALs) are extremely extraordinary benign extradural lesions. They are infrequently encountered in normal clinical practice although several authors have report single cases or case series. We present two cases of SEAL which we successfully surgical resected with no further neurological deficits. Our cases comprise of a male and a female with ages ranging from 30 to 60 years. Their principal presenting complains were numbness and pain at the lower extremity with associated fecal and urinary incontinence. In all our cases, MRI revealed extradural spinal lesions that exerted compressive effect on the spinal cord. The male patient had an infiltrating type while the female had non-infiltrating type. We attained total resection in both cases without any further neurological complication. The diagnosis of SEALs initially can be challenging radiologically since they may mimic other spinal lesions. The gold standard treatment modality should always be surgery although total resection may not be achievable in some cases.

Infiltrating angiolipoma of the foot: magnetic resonance imaging features and review of the literature

Angiolipoma is a benign soft tissue tumor with two subtypes: non-infiltrating and infiltrating. Although histologically benign, infiltrating angiolipoma can invade surrounding structures. The foot is a very rare location for angiolipoma, with only four cases reported in the English literature, including one infiltrating type. Here, we report a very rare case of infiltrating angiolipoma of the foot with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography (US) findings. A 7-year-old boy presented with a slowly growing foot mass. MRI showed an unencapsulated mass involving the third web space extending to the foot dorsum and sole. The mass was isointense to subcutaneous fat and was mixed with internal T1 low-signal-intensity enhancing areas. On US, we observed a heterogeneously hypoechoic mass with internal vascularity. Imaging and clinical features of angiolipoma and the radiologic differential diagnoses of a fat-containing mass in the pediatric foot are reviewed here. When there is an ill-defined foot mass with a fat component and variable enhancing portions in a child, infiltrating angiolipoma should be included in the differential diagnosis along with other fat-containing tumors.

Angiolipoma on the Lumbar Spine

Angiolipomas are composed of mature adipose tissue and blood vessels. Spinal angiolipomas are rare benign tumors with a good prognosis, and most symptoms are due to progressive compression of the spinal cord and root. The treatment of choice is total resection without any additional therapy. We report a case of an epidural angiolipoma on the lumbar spine in a 69-year-old man with weakness of the lower extremities. Lumbar magnetic resonance images revealed a well-enhanced epidural mass. He underwent laminectomy, and the tumor was completely removed. Pathologic examination confirmed the tumor was an angiolipoma. The patient's symptoms gradually improved postoperatively.

Lumbar Spinal Angiolipoma with Expanding Left Neural Foramen Mimicking Lumbar Schwannoma; Case Report and Review of The Literature

Aim

To describe a patient with lumbar angiolipoma mimicking schwannoma in the posterolateral side of the spinal canal with expansion of the left lumbar foramen and to discuss the clinical, radiologic, and surgical features of these lesions with literature.

Methods

Without language restriction in this paper, the electronic databases; The Cochrane Collaboration the Cochrane, The Cochrane Library (Issue 2 of 12, Feb. 2011), ProQuest, US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health (NLM) and PubMed dating from 1966 September to January Week 2 2017, were searched for comparative experimental studies using the terms: "OR", "AND". On-line literature searches were conducted using the key words "lumbar angiolipoma", "schwannoma ", "spinal angiolipoma", "spinal cord", and "spinal canal". We compared this research with our patient.

Results

Bilateral L2 total laminectomy, excision of the tumors and bilateral L2-L3 transpedicular stabilization were performed, and complaints improved prominently. Pathological examination was reported as angiolipoma.

Conclusion

The research shows that a probable diagnosis in such tumor cases could be made by sufficient pre-op scanning before surgical operations and although angiolipoma has been rarely seen in lumbar posterolateral space, it can be seen in lumbar region and mimic schwannoma as producing symptoms and signs of spinal cord and nerve root compression.

Spinal thoracic extradural angiolipoma manifesting as acute onset of paraparesis: Case report and review of literature

BACKGROUND

Angiolipomas are benign tumors most commonly found in the thoracic spine. They are composed of mature adipocytes and abnormal vascular elements that usually present with a slowly progressive course of neurological deterioration.

CASE DESCRIPTION

A 35-year-old female, with a prior history of back pain, acutely developed paraparesis. When the thoracic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a dorsal epidural mass at the T3-T5 level, she underwent a laminectomy for gross total excision of the lesion that proved to be an angiolipoma. On the second postoperative day, the patient was again able to ambulate.

CONCLUSION

The angiolipomas of spine are rare causes of spinal cord compression, and those presenting with acute neurological deficits should be immediately treated.

Epidural spinal angiolipoma: a case series

Background

Spinal angiolipomas (SAL) are rare benign tumors, commonly presenting with slow progressive spinal cord compression. There are only about 170 cases identified so far. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become the modality of choice for SAL. The purpose of this article is to report three cases of SAL and their characteristic MRI features.

Case presentation

Three cases of epidual spinal angiolipoma from ethnic Han Chinese patients are presented here, including one lumbar and two thoracic tumors. MRI imaging findings were reviewed.

Conclusions

Multiple MRI technology for characterization of SAL provides useful information for differential diagnosis and therapeutic management.

Bronchoscopic resection of bronchial angiolipoma: A rare case report

Angiolipoma is a rare benign tumor that most commonly occurs in the extremities and trunk. Angiolipomas originating in the bronchial tree are extremely rare. To the best of our knowledge, only one such case, confined to the bronchus intermedius, has been reported to date. The present study describes the case of an asymptomatic 74-year-old man with a yellowish round mass incidentally discovered at the orifice of the right lower bronchus during a routine health check. The tumor originated from the membranous part of the right inferior bronchus. Using a high-frequency electric snare and argon plasma coagulation under general anesthesia, successful bronchoscopic resection of the tumor was performed. At 15 months after the surgery, the patient remained recurrence- and symptom-free.

Spinal extradural angiolipomas: 7 new cases and review of the literature

INTRODUCTION

We present our experience with the diagnosis and treatment of spinal angiolipomas (SAL).

METHODS

We used our database of surgical patients to gather epidemiological, clinical, diagnostic, treatment, and follow-up data from confirmed cases of SAL. Patients' functional status was evaluated using the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) score for thoracic myelopathy.

RESULTS

We included 7 patients with ages ranging between 42 and 63 years; 4 were women. Lesions in all patients were located in the thoracic epidural space; in 2 cases, lesions extended outside the spinal canal. The most frequent form of presentation was pain combined with progressive myelopathy; patients scored 5 to 9 points on the mJOA scale. Radiological findings varied; this variability clearly depended on the proportion of tumour components (cellular variant in one case, predominantly angiomatous in another, and myxoid in yet another case). Four cases displayed radiological signs of bone involvement. Surgery resulted in excellent mJOA scores except in one case (mJOA score of 10); no recurrences were detected during follow-up (periods ranging from 1 to 5 years).

CONCLUSIONS

Extradural SAL can present with highly variable radiological and clinical features. Surgery must be tailored to each individual situation according to tumour extension; in some cases, it may include spinal reconstruction. Surgery results in excellent outcomes regardless of preoperative functional status and it is associated with low recurrence rates, even in case of incomplete resection.

Thoracic epidural spinal angiolipoma with coexisting lumbar spinal stenosis: Case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Spinal angiolipomas (SALs) are uncommon benign lesions that may present insidiously with back pain or acutely with weakness due to tumor bleeding/thrombosis. Given their rarity, these lesions are often overlooked in the differential diagnosis of epidural masses. The purpose of this article is to report the case of an epidural SAL and to conduct a literature review on the topic.

METHODS

A case report and review of the literature using the PubMed/Medline databases. All case reports and case series were reviewed up to June 2015.

RESULTS

A 65-year old female presented with neurogenic claudication and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed lumbar spinal stenosis. Following decompressive surgery, she experienced symptom resolution, but three months postoperatively she presented to the emergency department with acute paraparesis. A thoracic MRI revealed a lesion located between T8 and T10 causing severe spinal cord compression. Following emergent laminectomy and en bloc resection, the patient regained function and the lesion was diagnosed as SAL. Our literature review revealed 178 reported cases, with a female and thoracic predominance. The majority of patients underwent surgical treatment, achieving a gross total resection in most cases. Similarly, complete symptom resolution was the most common outcome.

CONCLUSION

Spinal angiolipomas are uncommon spinal tumors. However, they may be treated as any other space-occupying lesion, and surgical resection allows for complete symptom recovery in most patients.

Radical excision combined with instrumented fixation in the management of thoracic epidural angiolipoma: a case report

Introduction

Spinal angiolipoma is a benign uncommon neoplasm composed of mature lipocytes admixed with abnormal blood vessels. They account for only 0.04% to 1.2% of all spinal tumors. We present a case of thoracic epidural angiolipoma treated by combining radical resection with instrumented spinal fixation, without any surgical complication.

Case presentation

A 32-year-old Asian woman presented with dorsal epidural angiolipoma at the upper-thoracic level. She had a seven-month history of gradually worsening weakness and numbness in her lower extremities. Imaging studies of her thoracic spine demonstrated a heterogeneously well-enhancing mass, located in her posterior epidural space without surrounding bone erosion at the upper thoracic level. We also observed compression of her thoracic cord. During surgery, a reddish-gray, highly vascularized mass was excised. Her facet joints had to be resected to expose the part migrating into the intervertebral foramen. Because there was concern regarding the stability of her thoracic spine, we performed spinal fixation using pedicle screws. Histopathological study of the surgical specimen showed a typical angiolipoma.

Conclusion

Angiolipomas can be radically excised with good prognosis. Surgical removal is the preferred treatment for spinal angiolipoma, and the prognosis after surgical management is very good. Although outcomes remained favorable despite incomplete resections in a number of spinal angiolipoma, complete removal is preferred. We successfully achieved total resection without any surgical complication by combining radical resection with instrumented spinal fixation.

Spinal angiolipoma: etiology, imaging findings, classification, treatment, and prognosis

PURPOSE

To summarise our experience treating patients with spinal angiolipomas (SAs) and to evaluate factors relating to its prognosis.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients diagnosed with SAs who received surgical treatment from January 2001 to February 2013.

RESULTS

Twenty-one patients were described. We divide SAs into two types: "intraspinal" and "dumbbell-shaped". The former were further subclassified as "with lipomatosis" and "without lipomatosis". Overweight people are more likely to get the "with lipomatosis" type which needs different surgical strategy and/or a diet therapy to get better outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Diagnosis of SAs should be made with reference to clinical, radiological, and pathological findings. Application of different methods is needed to treat SAs.

Thoracolumbar spinal angiolipoma demonstrating high signal on STIR imaging: a case report and review of the literature

BACKGROUND

Angiolipomas are rare benign tumors, accounting for 0.14% to 1.2% of all tumors of the spinal axis with vascular and fatty histological features. Spinal angiolipoma (SAL) is most commonly found in the thoracic region and has high signal on contrast enhanced fat-saturated T1-weighted imaging. Although the international literature is extensive, there are few cases reported in United States.

OBJECTIVE

To present a case of SAL located in the thoracolumbar region without high signal on contrast enhanced fat-saturated T1-weighted imaging and to review previously reported cases.

STUDY DESIGN/METHODS

Case report and review the literature.

RESULTS

Magnetic resonance imaging obtained in a 68-year-old man with a long history of lumbago showed a heterogeneous mass (T10-L1) hyperintense on T1-weighted imaging but not enhancing on suppression fat sequences, suggesting epidural hematoma. Surgical excision of the lesion was performed, and SAL was diagnosed and confirmed by pathology. The patient became asymptomatic.

CONCLUSIONS

The predominance of either vascular or fatty components inside the tumor might alter the expected results on magnetic resonance imaging with suppression fat sequences.

Thoracic epidural angiolipoma: A case report and review of the literature

Angiolipoma of the spine is a benign neoplasm consisting of both mature fatty tissue and abnormal vascular elements, and usually presents with a slow progressive clinical course. Our patient presented with bilateral lower extremity weakness and chest-back numbness. Physical examination revealed adipose elements superficial hypesthesia below the T5 level and analgesia below the T6 level. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan showed an avidly and heterogeneously enhancing mass which was located in the posterior epidural space. Compression of the thoracic cord by the fusiform mass was seen between T3-T4. During the operation, a flesh pink vascular mass (4.7 cm × 1.0 cm × 1.0 cm) with obscure margin and strong but pliable texture was found in the posterior epidural space extending from T3 to T4. There was no infiltration of the dura or the adjacent bony spine. Histopathological study of the surgical specimen showed a typical angiolipoma. We review the previously documented cases of spinal extradural angiolipomas performed with MRI.

Infiltrating spinal angiolipoma

Spinal angiolipomas are rare lesions usually found in the epidural space of the thoracic spine. The infiltrating type of spinal angiolipomas is extremely rare. This report presents the case and reviews the related literature. A 58-year-old man was presented with a 7-month history of progressive weakness and sensory change of lower extremities. Magnetic resonance images showed a well-enhanced mass infiltrating the vertebral foramen at the T4-5 level. Resection of the tumor was performed. Histological study revealed the tumor as an angiolipoma. The patient was relieved from symptoms after tumor resection.

Lateral sellar angiolipoma: a tumor illustrative of the extradural compartment of the neural axis

Angiolipomas are rare tumors of the CNS that most frequently develop in the orbit, the cavernous space, and the epidural space of the spine. The authors report the case of a patient who presented with an angiolipoma of the cavernous space. Using data from the published literature and an experimental anatomical approach, they demonstrate that the cavernous space contains adipose tissue. Consequently, they suggest that angiolipomas constitute a characteristic tumor illustrating the interperiosteo-dural concept.

The authors report the clinical, radiological, and histological data of a patient who presented with a tumor of the cavernous space. In addition, they prepared 2 encephalic extremities (4 cavernous spaces) using a special anatomical preparation consisting of an injection of colored neoprene latex followed by a 6-month immersion in a formaldehyde solution enriched with hydrogen peroxide to soften the bone structures (coronal sections) while leaving the fat in the cavernous space intact.

This case report corroborates previously published clinical data and shows that the tumor was a hamartoma comprising mature fat cells associated with vascular proliferation. The tumor developed in the cavernous space, which is an interperiosteo-dural space extending from the sphenoid periosteum (osteoperiosteal layer) to the superior and lateral walls of the cavernous space (encephalic layer). This space represents an anatomical continuum extending from the coccyx to the orbit: the interperiosteo-dural concept. It contains fat tissue that is abundant at the level of the orbit and the epidural spinal space and sparser at the level of the cavernous spaces, as was shown in our anatomical study.

The authors suggest that angiolipomas represent a characteristic tumor that illustrates the interperiosteo-dural concept because they essentially develop in the fat tissue contained in these spaces.

[Spinal epidural angiolipoma: a case report]

Spinal epidural angiolipoma is a rare tumor revealed by a slowly progressive paraplegia. We reported a case of a 44-year-old female and point out the peculiar pattern of this lesion characterized by the prominence of the vascular component over the lipomatous component. Recognition of this entity is important because this is a benign and curable cause of paraplegia.