hemangioma

[whitney81180]

Has anyone ever been diagnosed with one of these on a MRI of the spine or could tell me about it? What is considered a normal MRI?

Thanks,
Becky

[LaurieAnne]

Has anyone ever been diagnosed with one of these on a MRI of the spine or could tell me about it? What is considered a normal MRI?

Thanks,
Becky

At my pre-op appt Oct 27th my MRI showed two hemangiomas - one at T-2 and one at T-8. Dr. Lenke's nurse asked him about them and he said he wasn't concerned about them and was not planning to remove them. Are they always noncancerous? Is this something the MRI determines? I read that if they remove them they bleed A LOT so I'm guessing this is why he would leave them intact. Anyone else have these?? Did you treat them or leave them alone? Do they cause problems?

[BadKitty]

Spinal hemangiomas are benign tumors consisting mainly of the overproliferation of blood vessels within the vertebral body itself. They usually don't cause any symptoms, and are only found incidentally during an exam for something else, like yours were. The cause isn't known, but there might be a genetic predisposition, plus more women have them than men.

When they're asymptomatic and not pressing on nerves or narrowing the spinal canal, they are usually left alone. There are injections that can shrink them if they are causing symptoms, but surgery is the last resort because of the risk of bleeding. This is one of those things that is fairly common, but you can go your whole life without knowing you have them. But if you're worried, ask your doctor to explain more about them, and what might happen in the future, in view of having spinal surgery in the area of the hemangioma.

[Vali]

During my MRI, I also was found to have a haemangioma. I think it was at either level L2/3 or L4/5 (probably L4/5). Neither my Neuro or Scoli Surgeon seemed to be concerned with it. They were more concerned with the fact that my curve had progressed 8 degrees in 8 months. Maybe they are, nothing to worry about unless they are causing problems and hence why, they were not really concerned. Don't worry too much, be guided by your surgeon. Best wishes.

[leahdragonfly]

This is an interesting topic. My pre-op MRI also showed a hemangioma in one of the lower lumbar vertebral bodies. It was described as "sub-centimeter" in size. It was never mentioned to me and as far as I know did not cause any problems during surgery.

[fashionista]

Interesting. I wonder if that condition is related to scoliosis.