Intradural spinal arteriovenous malformation of the glomus type: a case report

Abstract

Spinal arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) being even rarer than cranial ones, constitute 3 - 4 % of all spinal tumours, with an overall male: female ratio of 4:1. We report the case of a 24-year old female Youth Corps member who presented with an apoplectic onset of a left hemiparesis, progressively deteriorating to an incomplete quadriplegia with motor power of 2 and 0 in the right and left lower limb muscle groups, respectively . Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a vascular malformation whose precise nature was indeterminate; the definitive diagnosis of a Glomus AVM was only made intra-operatively. Laminectomy with complete surgical excision was done and she gradually improved to ambulate with minimal support. The experience in our unit tends to support t h e observation in literature that spinal arteriovenous malformations could be very rare, and depending on the location, could be amenable to complete surgical excision and recovery of neurological function.