Venous Congestive Myelopathy Caused by Spinal Vascular Malformation.

Vascular myelopathy can be result from either extrinsic or intrinsic spinal cord lesions. Extrinsic pathology results from spinal cord compression and/or injury associated with mass effect. Intrinsic pathology results from spinal cord infarction, hemorrhage and venous congestion. Among intrinsic spinal cord pathology, spinal cord infarction and hemorrhage develop symptoms rather suddenly, whereas venous congestion develops various symptoms gradually. Although spinal vascular malformation is a rare neurovascular disease, it is related to all three intrinsic and even extrinsic pathologies by compressing the spinal cord due to dilated arterial aneurysm or veins. Venous congestion tends to be neglected at the time of diagnosis because of its insidious and vague symptom onset. When spinal dural arteriovenous fistula (SDAVF) develops symptoms, abnormal T2-wighted image or fluid attenuated inversion recovery signal intensity appears on magnetic resonance imaging in the midline scan along the spinal cord.