An upper thoracic spinal cord tumor presenting as hemifacial hyperhidrosis.

BACKGROUND

Hyperhidrosis as the sole presenting symptom of an upper thoracic intramedullary tumor has never been reported in the English literature.

CASE DESCRIPTION: A 17-year-old boy presented with a long history of hemifacial flushing and hyperhidrosis on the left side of his face and neck. The MRI revealed a large spinal cord tumor at the T1-T2 levels. The patient underwent total excision of the intramedullary tumor via a posterior myelotomy. The histopathological diagnosis was low-grade astrocytoma. The symptoms resolved immediately after the surgery and did not return during the follow-up period of 9 months.

CONCLUSIONS

We suggest that sympathetic irritation on the left side is the mechanism behind this clinical presentation. Its unusual presentation and lack of motor and sensory deficits resulted in delayed diagnosis of this potentially disabling lesion. When autonomic dysfunction of the face and neck is encountered, in addition to the cranial and cervical regions, the upper thoracic levels should be investigated using MRI.