Tail-like cutaneous appendage at the upper thoracic region with a continuous stalk of limited dorsal myeloschisis

• Main Authors: Keisuke Abe, Nobutaka Mukae, Takato Morioka, Takafumi Shimogawa, Satoshi O Suzuki, Masahiro Mizoguchi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2020-12-01
• Series: Interdisciplinary Neurosurgery
• Subjects: Glial fibrillary acidic protein; Fibroneural stalk; Untethering
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214751920303844

Limited dorsal myeloschisis (LDM) is characterized by a fibroneural stalk linking the skin lesion to the underlying spinal cord. LDMs originally have either saccular or nonsaccular (flat) skin lesion; we recently demonstrated the human tail-like cutaneous appendage at the lumbosacral region, which is a morphological variation. We surgically treated a 6-month-old girl with a cutaneous appendage at the upper thoracic region; the appendage was a continuation of the LDM stalk. Surgery involving cord untethering and cosmetic removal of the appendage was performed. Histopathologically, small nests of glial fibrillary acidic protein-immunopositive neuroglial tissues were observed in the appendage and in the intradural LDM stalk. Clinicians should be aware of further morphological variations of thoracic lesions associated with LDM.