1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-3-46 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-3-6-8 Malformations Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant Tethered Spinal Cords http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 06 1989 01 08 2016 3 6 46 47 Copyright: © 1989 The Author(s) 1989 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Lumbar cutaneous hemangiomas as indicators of tethered spinal cords

The diagnosis of tethered spinal cord by MRI in seven children with cutaneous lumbar hemangioma is reported from the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

 Cutaneous Lumbar Tethered Spinal Cords Cutaneous Hemangioma

The diagnosis of tethered spinal cord by MRI in seven children with cutaneous lumbar hemangioma is reported from the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The hemangiomas ranged in size from 4 × 6 cm to 8 × 20 cm and all overlapped the midline. All demonstrated tethered cords; four showed intraspinal lipomas, and two showed tight fila terminale. At surgery, all infants were found to have tethered cords and none had an intraspinal hemangioma. All patients were neurologically normal both pre and postoperatively. [1]

COMMENT. The lumbar hemangiomas in these patients were large and the significance of small lesions is not known. Despite a normal neurological examination, infants or children with large lumbar cutaneous hemangiomas should be suspected of having tethered cords and magnetic resonance imaging should be obtained. If neurologic deficits are allowed to develop with increasing age, the likelihood of postoperative improvement is only 25-50%. Ultrasound may be used to diagnose tethered cords but magnetic resonance is usually required for better visualization. In addition to the association with cutaneous hemangioma, tethered cord occurs with subcutaneous lipoma, a hairy tuft, a prominent dimple, or a midline sinus tract or skin defect.

 Albright AL Gartner JC Wiener ES Lumbar cutaneous hemangiomas as indicators of tethered spinal cords Pediatrics 1989 Jun 83 6 977 80 2657627