Intramedullary angioma with bilateral arm hypothermia

Abstract

Spinal cavernous malformations are collections of abnormal blood vessels in the spinal cord. They are rare and frequently accompany cranial cavernous angiomas. They exhibit clinical features representing the region of the spine affected by the cavernous malformation. We present a 12-year-old boy with bilateral hypothermia predominantly in the left arm and motor weakness of the upper extremities, and lesser involvement of the lower extremities The case had normal cranial magnetic resonance imaging, but MRI of cervical region revealed an intramedullary cavernous haemangioma confirmed with histopathological examination. The lesion was totally excised and hypothermia completely improved within 2 weeks after operation. We suggested that hypothermia in the extremities may be added as a rare finding to the list of the clinical features in cervical myelopathy.

Key words:

• Cavernous angioma
• hypothermia
• intramedullary haemangioma
• spinal cord