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Dumb-bell ganglioneuroma of the spine misinterpreted as progressive idiopathic scoliosis

Case report

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Summary

A giant ganglioneuroma generating a progressive scoliosis in a 16-year-old girl is presented. The interval between the start of the orthopaedic treatment and the diagnosis of the true nature of the disease was more than 4 years, thus allowing the development of a giant partly intracanalicularly partly retroperitonealy expanding tumormass. The report emphasizes and describes the combined neurosurgical, general surgical and orthopaedic surgical treatment and presents the results of light- and electron microsopical, immunohistochemical and quantitative neurochemical investigations of the resected tumor.

Zusammenfassung

Es wird über ein riesenhaftes Ganglioneurom als Ursache für eine progrediente Lumbalskoliose bei einem 16jährigen Mädchen berichtet. Zwischen dem Beginn der orthopädischen Skoliosebehandlung und der Diagnose der wahren Ursache der Skoliose sind mehr als 4 Jahre vergangen, so daß ein riesenhafter, teils intrakanalikulär, teils retroperitoneal wachsender Tumor sowie die Destruktion von 4 Lendenwirbelkörpern entstehen konnte. Neben der Beschreibung der kombinierten neurochirurgischen allgemeinchirurgischen und orthopädich-chirurgischen Therapie werden die Ergebnisse der licht-, immun- und elektronenmikroskopischen Untersuchungen sowie neurochemischen Analysen des resezierten Tumors mitgeteilt.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, University of Marburg, D-3550, Marburg, Federal Republic of Germany

    B. L. Bauer

  2. Department of Orthopaedics, University of Marburg, D-3550, Marburg, Federal Republic of Germany

    H. Bauer & P. Griss

  3. Department of Neuroradiology, University of Marburg, D-3550, Marburg, Federal Republic of Germany

    A. Lütcke

  4. Department of General-Surgery, University of Marburg, D-3550, Marburg, Federal Republic of Germany

    D. Maroske

  5. Department of Neuropathology, University of Marburg, D-3550, Marburg, Federal Republic of Germany

    H. D. Mennel

  6. Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Marburg, D-3550, Marburg, Federal Republic of Germany

    K. Unsicker

Authors
  1. B. L. Bauer
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  2. H. Bauer
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  3. P. Griss
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  4. A. Lütcke
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  5. D. Maroske
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  6. H. D. Mennel
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  7. K. Unsicker
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Bauer, B.L., Bauer, H., Griss, P. et al. Dumb-bell ganglioneuroma of the spine misinterpreted as progressive idiopathic scoliosis. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 108, 189–194 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00934267

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00934267

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