Misleading Features of Benign Spinal Cord Tumors

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Abstract
Three patients with the clinical features of extramedullary compression of the spinal cord due to meningioma and neurinoma all presented with an incomplete Brown-Séquard syndrome. A striking improvement in gait occurred postoperatively in all three patients. The erroneous diagnosis in one patient was posterolateral sclerosis; in another it was rheumatoid arthritis; and in the third, Parkinson's disease and peripheral neuritis. In these cases, the correct diagnosis was made by careful attention to the neurological findings. In view of the exceptionally good prognosis following surgery in extramedullary tumors of this type, it is imperative that this diagnosis should be seriously considered in all patients with a history of progressive difficulty in walking. The importance of visualizing the entire spinal canal while performing myelographic studies is stressed.

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