Epidural lipomatosis – a cause of pain in the lumbar spine. Presentation of clinical cases and literature review.
Keywords:
Epidural lipomatosis, Pain, Spinal compressionAbstract
Epidural lipomatosis is a rare but clinically significant condition characterized by excessive accumulation of fatty tissue in the epidural space of the spinal canal. The epidural space is located between the dura mater and the walls of the spinal canal. Under normal conditions, the fatty tissue in this space is present in small amounts, but in lipomatosis, there is a pathological proliferation of this tissue, which in turn can lead to compression of nerve and other structures in the spinal column, causing pain and other neurological symptoms. In this article, we present two clinical cases of patients with clinically and radiologically proven epidural lipomatosis.
References
Al-Khawaja, D., Seex, K., Eslick, G.D. Spinal epidural lipomatosis – A brief review. Journal of Clinical Neuroscience. 2008,15,12,1323-1326.
Borré, D.G., Borré, G.E., Aude, F., Palmieri, G.N. Lumbosacral epidural lipomatosis: MRI grading. Eur Radiol. 2003,13, 330-332.
Fassett, D. R, Schmidt, M.H. Spinal epidural lipomatosis: a review of its causes and recommendations for treatment. Neurosurgical focus. 2004,16,4,1-3.
Kano, K., Kyo, K., Ito, S., Spinal epidural lipomatosis in children with renal diseases receiving steroid therapy. Pediatr Nephrol. 2005,20, 2,184-189.
Kim, K., Mendelis, J., Cho, W. Spinal Epidural Lipomatosis: A Review of Pathogenesis, Characteristics, Clinical Presentation, and Management. Global Spine Journal. 2019,9,6,658-665.
Lee, M., Lekias, J., Gubbay, S.S., Hurst, P.E. Spinal cord compression by extradural fat after renal transplantation. Medical Journal of Australia. 1975,1,7,201-203.
Malone, J.B., Bevan, P.J., Lewis, T.J., Nelson, A.D., Blaty, D.E., Kahan, M.E. Incidence of spinal epidural lipomatosis in patients with spinal stenosis. Journal of Orthopaedics. 2018,15,1,36-39.
. Möller, J.C., Cron, R.Q., Young, D.W. Corticosteroid-induced spinal epidural lipomatosis in the pediatric age group: Report of a new case and updated analysis of literature. Pediatr Rheumatol. 2011,9,1,1-6.
Muñoz, A., Barkovich, J.A., Mateos, F., Simón, R. Symptomatic epidural lipomatosis of the spinal cord in a child: MR demonstration of spinal cord injury. Pediatric Radiology. 2002,32,12,865-868.
Okunlola, A.I., Orewole, T.O., Okunlola, C.K., Babalola, O.F., Akinmade, A. Epidural lipomatosis in elderly patient: A rare cause of cauda equina compression. Surgical Neurology International, 2021,12,7.
Perling, L.H., Laurent, J.P., Cheek, W.R. Epidural hibernoma as a complication of corticosteroid treatment: Case report. Journal of Neurosurgery. 1988,69,4,613-616.
Robertson, S.C., Traynelis, V.C., Follett, K.A., Menezes, A.H. Idiopathic spinal epidural lipomatosis. Neurosurgery. 1997,41,1,68-75.
Тheyskens, N.C., Paulino Pereira, N.R., Janssen, S.J., Bono, C.M., Schwab, J.H., Cha,T.D. The prevalence of spinal epidural lipomatosis on magnetic resonance imaging. Spine Journal. 2017,17,7,969-976.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 E. Gosheva, O. Burgazlieva, A. Doncheva, E. Milushev, N. Topalov
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
