Multidisciplinary Management and Outcome of Intradural Extramedullary Spinal Tumors

Introduction/Objective:  About fifteen percent of the primary CNS tumors are intraspinal. About two-thirds of tumors are intradural extramedullary (IDEM). This study was conducted to review the outcome of operative management of intradural extramedullary tumors in correlation with the factors, both clinical & histopathological, influencing the neurology of patients & prognosis. Materials and Methods:  It was a multicenter study including 42 patients conducted from December 2018 to December 2020. All patients were diagnosed by MRI with and without contrast. Patients were surgically treated & analyzed for clinical features i.e., pain by visual analog scale (VAS) & neurology by modified McCormick scale both preoperatively & post-operatively. Clinical features & outcomes were correlated with tumor size & histopathology. p-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results:  This study included 42 cases. The most common diagnosis was schwannoma (76.19%). The average intradural space occupied at presentation was 82%. The most common location was dorsal (90.4%). The visual analog score for pain (VAS) improved in all patients post-operatively from 7 ± 1.9 to 2 ± 0.8 (p = 0.003) & modified McCormick scale from 3.0 ± 1.3 to 2.0 ± 1.0 (p = 0.005). The preoperative symptoms were correlated with the only size of the tumor occupying the intradural space (VAS p = 0.021, modified McCormick scale p = 0.018). Conclusion:  All the tumors excised showed some improvement in neurological status. Therefore, all patients diagnosed with IDEM should be operated on even if present with prolonged symptoms or severe neurological compromise. Keywords:  Intradural Extramedullary, Meningioma, Schwannoma, Intraspinal.