Intramedullary neuroma of the cervicomedullary junction

Abstract

Neuromas typically arise in the peripheral nervous system in response to traumatic injury at the site of partial or complete nerve transection as new axons from the proximal nerve stump sprout to reinnervate the distal segment. In rare cases neuromas have also been described as intramedullary spinal cord lesions. These lesions have been identified as incidental autopsy findings in association with prior trauma and cervical spondylosis, multiple sclerosis, spinal tumors, and syringomyelia. The authors report the case of a 50-year-old man who had been involved in a motor vehicle accident, during which his car was struck from behind as it was stationary at an intersection, more than 5 years before presentation. A workup for syncopal and presyncopal episodes involved magnetic resonance imaging that revealed a 1.1-cm lesion at the cervicomedullary junction (CMJ). The imaging features of the lesion raised the question of an ependymoma or subependymoma. The lesion was excised, and examination of the tissue demonstrated a neuroma with haphazardly arranged interlacing bundles of axons ensheathed by Schwann cells with interfascicular regions of reactive glial cells and Rosenthal fibers, consistent with those present after traumatic injury. This case may represent the first true traumatic intramedullary neuroma of the CMJ diagnosed in a living patient and treated surgically.