Spinal paraganglioma presenting with raised intracranial pressure: a note on the diagnosis and post-operative management.

Background: Spinal paragangliomas are tumors of neuroendocrine origin that present with symptoms of mass effect or neurosecretion but rarely involve the central nervous system. Raised intracranial pressure and papilledema are therefore unusual presentations of a spinal paraganglioma.

Methods: We review the case of a 54-year-old man who presented with headache and visual disturbance. Fundoscopy confirmed papilledema with normal intracranial imaging. Neuraxis imaging revealed a lumbar intradural extramedullary tumor and pathological analysis confirmed a WHO Grade I spinal paraganglioma. The tumor was resected and post operatively his vison improved with resolution of optic disc swelling.

Conclusions: Raised intracranial pressure and papilledema are unusual clinical manifestations of spinal tumors and imaging the entire neuraxis can be valuable.