Author(s)

Ana Carla Farias Pimentel^1*, Mariana Santos Leite Pessoa², Francisca Estefânia Mesquita Maciel de Lima³, Manuel Joaquim Diógenes Teixeira⁴, Cláudio Régis Sampaio Silveira^5,6

¹Ana Carla Farias Pimentel, MD, Radiologist, Hospital Geral de Fortaleza (HGF), Fortaleza-CE, Brazil.
²Mariana Santos Leite Pessoa, MD, Radiology Resident, Hospital Geral de Fortaleza (HGF), Fortaleza-CE, Brazil.
³Francisca Estefania Mesquita Maciel de Lima, MD, Pathologist, Laboratório Mikros, Fortaleza-CE, Brazil.
⁴Manuel Joaquim Diógenes Teixeira, MD, Orthopedist, Hospital Geral de Fortaleza (HGF), Fortaleza-CE, Brazil.
⁵Cláudio Régis Sampaio Silveira, MD, Radiologist, Hospital Geral de Fortaleza (HGF), Fortaleza-CE, Brazil.
⁶Hospital S?o Carlos, Fortaleza-CE, Brazil.

Vertebral hemangiomas are common benign lesions of the spine, characterized by abnormal vascular proliferation, being commonly asymptomatic incidental findings, presenting symptoms in only a small portion of affected individuals. In a smaller number of cases, however, hemangiomas can present an expansive effect and extra-osseous extension, determining a mass effect and neurological symptoms, being therefore called aggressive hemangiomas. On MRI, aggressive hemangiomas are characterized by having a larger vascular component and a smaller fat component, thus producing a low signal on T1-weighted images. We illustrate the case of a young male patient who presented with pain in the upper thoracic spine, who developed paraparesis and ascending sensory deficit and progressive lower limbs, progressing to paraplegia and loss of sphincter control.

Aggressive Vertebral Hemangioma, Compressive Myelopathy, Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Pimentel, A. , Pessoa, M. , Lima, F. , Teixeira, M. and Silveira, C. (2021) Aggressive Dorsal Vertebral Hemangioma Causing Compressive Mielopathy. Open Journal of Medical Imaging, 11, 85-91. doi: 10.4236/ojmi.2021.113008.