Functional outcome in intradural extramedullary tumor patients after surgical tumour excision: Case series

Background: About two-thirds of the benign intraspinal neoplasms are intradural extramedullary spinal cord tumours (IESCT). On rare occasions, they exhibit neurological involvement ranging from acute to chronic, necessitating urgent surgical intervention.

Methods: Here, we examined a group of 10 intradural extramedullary tumours treated between 2020 and 2022 by a single orthopaedic surgeon at Rajshree Medical and Research Institute, Bareilly's department of orthopaedics. Patients were followed up forat least two years. Clinical and functional outcome of these patients were evaluated by Karnofsky Performance Score [KPS], and Modified McCormick scale

Results: Thoracic spine 07 (70%) and junctional tumours 3 (30%) were the major sites of the majority of IESCT tumour in our study. There were 5 meningiomas, 2 schwannomas, 2 inflammatory, and 1 benign cyst on histo-pathological analysis. Meningiomas were typically found dorsal spine and dorso-lumbar junction, while schwannomas were found in the middle of the dorsal region. Both KPS and the Modified McCormick scale were significantly improved after surgery.

Conclusion: MRI scan with constrast can easily identify the majority of benign intradural extramedullary tumours. It was observed that earlier diagnosis of neurological involvement were associated with good prognosis. Notably, surgical intervention is followed by positive functional outcomes.