Department of Pathology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
A 33 year-old man with an epidural mass mass in thoracic spine
Clinical information:
The patient was a 33 year-old white man who presented with a 6 month history of interscapular and thoracic back pain with substantial worsening in the last three months. He also complained of intermittent numbness in his left leg down to his heel, night sweats and generalized fatigue. Otherwise, he had no other problem with ambulation. There were no bowel or urination problems. Imaging studies revealed a compression fracture of the T7 vertebral body with a left extradural mass at T4-T5 levels. A CT-guided needle biopsy of the lesion yielded non-diagnostic material that contained scant bone marrow tissue with scant atypical cells. A T4-T6 hemilaminectomy with tumor debulking was performed. A bone marrow biopsy was performed. The followings are representative photos taken from the extradural mass and bone marrow biopsy:
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Cases of the Month Evaluation Coordinator: KarMing-Fung@ouhsc.edu