SUBPIAL SPINAL LIPOMA: SURGERY WITH INTRAOPERATIVE MONITORING OF NEURAL FUNCTION AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Intradural spinal lipomas not associated with congenital dysraphism and malformations, are rare and benign slow growing tumors, representing about 1% of all spinal tumors. We report two cases both of a 59 years-old women complaining of gait difficulties, progressive para-paresis and long history of back pain with a magnetic resonance imaging suggestive for a subpial spinal lipoma with compression of posterior aspect of spinal cord from T1 to T3 and cono-cauda. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the technique of resection of this type of lesions and to emphasize the role of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring in order to perform a safer surgery and to objectively establish its end with an extensive review of the literature focused on this aspect.