Thoracic epidural angiolipoma mimicking schwannoma: A case report and review of the literature.
- 1Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Department of Neurosurgery, Beni Mellal Regional Hospital, Beni Mellal, Morocco.
- 2Research Laboratory of Nervous System Diseases, Neurosensory Disorders, and Disability, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Hassan II University of Casablanca, Casablanca, Morocco.
Abstract
Background
Spinal angiolipoma is a rare benign epidural tumor composed of mature adipose tissue and vascular elements. Its radiological appearance may closely resemble that of a schwannoma, making preoperative diagnosis challenging.Case description
A 74-year-old female presented with progressive gait disturbance. The thoracic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a posterior epidural lesion at T2-T4 causing significant spinal cord compression; the initial diagnosis was schwannoma. However, when the patient's neurological condition rapidly deteriorated (i.e., paraparesis with urinary incontinence), surgery revealed the histopathology to be consistent with a spinal angiolipoma.Conclusion
Thoracic spinal angiolipomas are rare benign tumors that may radiologically mimic a schwannoma. Although MRI is essential for lesion characterization and surgical planning, the diagnosis requires histopathological confirmation. Furthermore, immediate surgical resection in patients demonstrating the rapid onset of myelopathy/significant neurological deficits provides the best postoperative neurological outcomes.
Related
- Recurrent postoperative symptomatic epidural hematoma after thoracic decompression surgery: a case report and literature review
- Thoracic Spinal Angiolipoma: A Retrospective Case Series Highlighting Heterogeneous Imaging Presentations
- Postoperative epidural fluid collection mimicking epidural abscess: illustrative cases
- Extradural C1-C2 Dumbbell Schwannoma Mimicking an Intradural Lesion on MRI: A Case Report.
- Intranodal Epithelioid Schwannoma in an Intraparotid Lymph Node: A Case Report and Literature Review
BibTeX
@article{echnin2026thoracic,
title = {{Thoracic epidural angiolipoma mimicking schwannoma: A case report and review of the literature.}},
author = {Jihad Echnin and Mohamed Daghi},
journal = {Surgical neurology international},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.25259/sni_846_2026},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42974541},
note = {CC BY-NC-SA},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Thoracic epidural angiolipoma mimicking schwannoma: A case report and review of the literature.
AU - Jihad Echnin
AU - Mohamed Daghi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - Surgical neurology international
DO - 10.25259/sni_846_2026
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42974541
AB - Background Spinal angiolipoma is a rare benign epidural tumor composed of mature adipose tissue and vascular elements. Its radiological appearance may closely resemble that of a schwannoma, making preoperative diagnosis challenging.Case description A 74-year-old female presented with progressive gait disturbance. The thoracic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a posterior epidural lesion at T2-T4 causing significant spinal cord compression; the initial diagnosis was schwannoma. However, when the patient's neurological condition rapidly deteriorated (i.e., paraparesis with urinary incontinence), surgery revealed the histopathology to be consistent with a spinal angiolipoma.Conclusion Thoracic spinal angiolipomas are rare benign tumors that may radiologically mimic a schwannoma. Although MRI is essential for lesion characterization and surgical planning, the diagnosis requires histopathological confirmation. Furthermore, immediate surgical resection in patients demonstrating the rapid onset of myelopathy/significant neurological deficits provides the best postoperative neurological outcomes.
SN - 2229-5097
SN - 2152-7806
ER -