Thoracic Spinal Meningioma Manifesting as Sciatica-Like Pain

Abstract

The term sciatica has often been associated with disorders of the lumbar spine and pelvis. Spinal cord compression occasionally causes pain that is referred to the lower back or lower extremities which is well below the level of the lesion. A 65-year-old man presented with a 4-month history of left-side dominant sciatica like pain. Neurological examination found sciatika like pain on the posterolateral side of the left calf and the dorsum of the left foot. An unexpected patology was found in the preoperative chest CT which was taken for a different reason. We demonstrated a patient with thoracal spinal meningioma with initial clinical symptoms similar to lumbar radiculopathy. Meningioma was totally excised and postoperative pain on the left leg resolved. It is a false localizing presentation which may lead to missed or delayed diagnosis, resulting in the erroneous plan of management especially in the presence of concurrent lumbar lesions.