Lumbar intradural paragangliomas: report of two cases.

Paraganglioma (PG) is a rare tumor of the dispersed neuroendocrine system. PG derives from the embryonic sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Paraganglioma is a neoplasm of the dispersed neuroendocrine system that affects a variety of anatomic sites, mainly the head and neck. It occurs commonly in the carotid body, glomus jugulare, mediastinum and retroperitoneum. Primary spinal paragangliomas are quite rare tumors. They are commonly located in the cauda equina region, and manifest their own clinical and radiological features. In this study, two cases of lumbar intradural paragangliomas are presented. Both of the tumors were totally resected with surgery and there was no evidence of recurrence or metastases during follow-up period. It was concluded that paragangliomas should be taken into consideration during the preoperative workup studies of lumbar intradural tumors.