Surgical treatment of intramedullary-extramedullary ependymomas. Two clinical cases and a literature review

Abstract

Ependymoma is a central nervous system tumor that grows from ependymal cells lining the cerebral ventricles, central canal of the spinal cord, and filum terminale. Regardless of the histological type of ependymomas, they rarely have exophytic growth. Because of an extremely low occurrence rate of this phenomenon, we present two clinical cases of patients with classical intramedullary ependymomas (Grade II) having an extramedullary component. Material and methods. The paper presents two clinical cases of patients with intramedullary-extramedullary ependymomas of the spinal cord. The surgical technique is described. After surgical treatment, the performance status of patients remained unchanged. Conclusion. Radical removal of complex ependymomas provides conditions for long-term disease-free survival and further neurological recovery.