Abstract
This is the case of an eight-year-old boy who showed symptoms involving a light paraspastic
of the legs and pains in the small of the back. The X-ray of the lumbar vertebrae
was normal but a Pantopaque myelogram showed a complete stop of the contrast medium
at the level of the 2nd lumbar vertebra.
A large ependymoma of the caudal cone region, which extended from L 2 to S œ could
be completely removed through a correspondingly large laminectomy. The tumor generated
from the filum terminale which was resected (Fig. 1). The origin of the tumor was
confirmed by the histological report (Fig. 2).
Spinal growth in childhood are rare, mostly malignant and therefore usually not responsive
to surgical treatment. In this particular case the prognosis is auspicious since the
tumor, a benign glioma (ependymoma) originated from the filum terminale which can
be removed because of its functional insignificance. Consequently even in childhood
any sign of a spinal process should instigate a corresponding diagnostic procedure
which possibly can be followed by operative therapy.
Zusammenfassung
Es wird über den Fall eines Ependymoms des Filum terminale bei einem 8jährigen Jungen
berichtet. Der ausgedehnte Tumor konnte insgesamt erfolgreich entfernt werden. Auf
die günstige Prognose eines solchen Befundes, die mit der Entstehungsweise der Geschwulst
zusammenhängt, wird hingewiesen. Der Fall wird anhand des entsprechenden Schrifttums
diskutiert.
Keyword
Spinal tumors - ependymomas - filum terminale
