A rare case of concomitant cervical disc herniation and intradural meningioma treated with one-stage posterior surgery

Abstract

Study design

Case report.

Purpose

To present a rare case of cervical disc herniation concomitant with intradural meningioma which was successfully treated using a single one-stage posterior surgery of tumor resection and transdural discectomy.

Summary of background data

Coexistence of symptomatic disc herniation and intra-spinal tumor in the same cervical segment is extremely rare. Usually, two-stage anterior and posterior surgeries are needed to treat two conditions, respectively. One-stage posterior surgery to treat two pathologies simultaneously has not been reported in the literature.

Methods and results

A 76-year-old man presented with leg weakness and numbness for 6 months and left arm pain for 2 months. Contrast MR imaging revealed C3/4 intervertebral disc herniation and a hyperintense intradural lesion at the right portion of C3 canal. A one-stage posterior surgery, including C3/4 laminectomy, intradural tumor resection, transdural C3/4 discectomy, and C3/4 lateral mass instrumentation and fusion, was performed to treat two distinct pathologies together. The patient’s arm pain and numbness disappeared right after the surgery and symptoms of myelopathy fully recovered at 6-month follow-up. Histological studies confirmed a herniated disc and a meningioma.

Conclusion

In rare case, intradural tumor coexists with cervical disc herniation. When suspicious findings were noticed, or clinical symptoms cannot be fully explained, contrast MR imaging is helpful in differential diagnosis. Microscopic transdural discectomy is safe, and could be used as an optional procedure for cervical disc herniation in some cases.