Abstract
Summary of Literature Review
Epidermoid cyst in the spinal canal is rare. Idiopathic epidermoid cyst in the spinal canal not associated with a trauma or infection is even rarer.
Material and Methods
A 73 year-old female presented with a 1 year history of progressive paresthesia and motor weakness of both lower extremeties. MRI showed a cystic mass on the 7th thoracic canal. We performed total laminectomy at the T6 –T8 level. The cystic mass was excised after durotomy using a posterior approach.
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Fig. 1.
MRI finding of lumbar spine (A) Cystic mass with hyper-intense signal area in T2 weighted image at the T7. (B) Tumor mass occupies the almost entire canal in axial views.
![jkss-22-26f1.tif](/upload/SynapseXML/1089jkss/thumb/jkss-22-26f1.gif)
Fig. 2.
Operative Findings : Huge irregularly shaped nodular tumor mass wall is seen, when the dura was open.
![jkss-22-26f2.tif](/upload/SynapseXML/1089jkss/thumb/jkss-22-26f2.gif)
Fig. 4.
Sagittal and axial magnetic resonance images 1 weeks after surgery reveal normalization of the previously compressed spinal cord.
![jkss-22-26f4.tif](/upload/SynapseXML/1089jkss/thumb/jkss-22-26f4.gif)
Fig. 5.
(A) The microscopic finding shows keratin laid down by the well-developed squamous epithelium. The stroma reveals abun-dant skin appendages. But no sweat gland and hair follicles are seen. (B) The well-developed squamous epithelia are shown. The underlying stroma demonstrates loose mesenchymal tissue(x100).
![jkss-22-26f5.tif](/upload/SynapseXML/1089jkss/thumb/jkss-22-26f5.gif)