Low-grade dorsal spinal cord astrocytoma presented with paraplegia following minor trauma

Abstract

Although they constitute about one third of spinal cord glial neoplasms, low-grade astrocytomas can present variably. Post-traumatic neurologic dysfunction due to low-grade spinal cord gliomas is an uncommon event. The authors report a case of paraplegia following minor traumatic event in an 18-month-old boy where subsequent imaging was directed to exclude intracranial hemorrhage. Upon further investigations which included spine-computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, a hemorrhagic intraspinal neoplasm was discovered and confirmed to be a low-grade astrocytoma. This case illustrates an instance of significant neurological deficit caused by intratumeral hemorrhage and swelling.