Solitary spinal epidural cavernous angiomas in children presenting with acute neurological symptoms caused by hemorrhage

Spinal solitary epidural cavernous angiomas are rare benign vascular malformations, which occur even less frequently in children than in adults. It is uncommon to find such lesions without adjacent vertebral involvement. Occasionally, these lesions can lead to neurological symptoms through growth or due to intralesional hemorrhage. In this report the authors describe 2 children presenting with acute symptoms and neurological deficits caused by hemorrhage within solitary spinal epidural cavernous angiomas. A 13-year-old girl and a 9-year-old girl, previously healthy, were admitted to the authors' department due to acute radicular pain and neurological deficits. In both cases MR imaging revealed a solitary epidural mass with signs of bleeding and compression of the spinal cord. Complete resection of the lesion via a dorsal approach was performed in both patients. The histological examination of the lesions revealed the characteristic structures of a cavernous angioma with hemosiderin deposits and acute hemo...