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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Asian J Neurosurg 2022; 17(03): 521-526
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1756635
Case Report

Pilocytic Astrocytoma Arising from the Conus Medullaris in an Adult: A Case Report

Nathan K. Leclair
1   School of Medicine, University of Connecticut, Farmington, Connecticut, United States
,
Avery Buehler
2   Research Assistant, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, United States
,
Qian Wu
3   Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, United States
,
Kevin Becker
4   Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, United States
,
Isaac L. Moss
5   Department of Orthopedic Surgery, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, United States
,
Ketan R. Bulsara
4   Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, United States
,
Hilary Onyiuke
4   Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, UConn Health, Farmington, Connecticut, United States
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
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Abstract

Low-grade, sporadic, pilocytic astrocytomas (PAs) are rare spinal cord tumors diagnosed in adult patients. Their localization to the conus medullaris is exceedingly rare, having only been described in a limited number of case reports. Here, we describe a case of a 22-year-old female presenting with back pain, lower extremity weakness, hypoesthesia, and urinary incontinence. Imaging studies demonstrated a cystic lesion of the conus medullaris that was treated with subtotal resection and cyst-subarachnoid shunt placement. Final pathology report confirmed PA from the histology of surgical specimens. We discuss the current literature of conus medullaris lesions and their differential diagnosis.

Keywords

pilocytic astrocytoma - conus medullaris

Informed Consent

The authors received informed consent for publication from the patient described in this case.


Supplementary Material



Publication History

Article published online:
12 October 2022

© 2022. Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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