Revista de columna vertebral y neurocirugía

Paraganglioma of the Filum Terminale- A Case Report

Roger Schmidt Brock, Gustavo Noleto, Matheus Fernandes de Oliveira and Manoel Jacobsen Teixeira

Paragangliomas are rare lesions, and in filum terminale region they account for only 3.3 to 3.5% of tumors. We report the case of a patient with history of progressive low back pain at night with altered sensitivity in the lower limbs and neurogenic bladder. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a mass lesion in the conus medullaris region. The patient underwent complete microsurgical resection and experienced improvement of his symptoms. Histologic evaluation was consistent with a paraganglioma of the filum terminale. We provide a brief review of the epidemiology and clinical and radiological features of this condition. Prognosis is associated with the ability to achieve total surgical resection. In the event of partial removal, longer follow-up is required.