Presentation
Weakness of the right upper limb with a palpable lower cervical mass.
Patient Data
Well-circumscribed "dumbbell-shaped" soft tissue mass of the spinal canal with a large extra-spinal component extending through an enlarged right C6-C7 exit foramen, along the C7 nerve root with vertebral scalloping. It elicits a low signal to the spinal cord on T1 and an inhomogeneous high signal on T2 with heterogeneous enhancement on postcontrast sequences. The adjacent segment of the spinal cord is mildly compressed with no sign of myelopathy.
Case Discussion
MRI features of a "dumbbell-shaped" soft tissue mass at C6-C7 suggestive of a nerve sheath tumor most likely schwannoma.
Spinal schwannomas are benign nerve sheath tumors within the spinal canal arising from spinal nerve roots.
On imaging, neurofibromas and schwannomas can look identical; however, schwannomas are frequently associated with hemorrhage, intrinsic vascular changes, cyst formation and fatty degeneration. These findings are rare in neurofibromas.
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