A case of dumbbell-shaped epidural cavernous angioma in the lumbar spine

BACKGROUND Most spinal cavernous haemangiomas occur in the vertebral body and purely extradural cavernous hemangiomas without any vertebral body involvement is rare and account for only 4% of all extradural spinal tumors. Dumbbell-shaped spinal cavernous angioma is extremely rare, only 10 cases have been reported in the literature. CASE DESCRIPTION A 77-year-old female presented with a one-year history of lumbago and right-sided L3 dermatomal hypoesthesia. A dumbbell mass at the L2/3 vertebral level was identified on lumbar MRI. The lesion was irregularly shaped and isointense on T1W and hyperintense on T2W and DWI images with homogenous contrast enhancement. A presumptive diagnosis was schwannoma, but other malignant neoplasms were also considered because of its irregular shape, minimally dilated neural foramen and the involvement of the non-enhanced L3 nerve root. The patient underwent surgery with a lateral extracavitary approach. A histopathological examination revealed cavernous hemangioma. CONCLUSION Cavernous hemangioma should be included in the differential diagnosis of dumbbell-shaped spinal tumors when the intervertebral foramina is not highly dilated and non-enhanced nerve root is identified in the tumor.