Microsurgical excision of ganglioneuroma arising from the C8 nerve root within the neuroforamen

Ganglioneuromas are benign, slow-growing tumors originating from sympathetic nerves or peripheral nerves, often associated with multiple tumor syndromes. They occasionally occur as spinal lesions and grow within the spinal canal or as paraspinal lesions. In this report, we describe a rare solitary ganglioneuroma arising from the cervical nerve root (C8) within the intervertebral foramen in adults. The tumor could be detected as a mass limited to the neuroforamen at an early stage by MR images. Unilateral microsurgical foraminotomy and en bloc resection of the tumor resulted in disappearance of the symptoms. Microsurgical resection of the relevant nerve root through limited medial foraminotomy at an intricate anatomical region of the cervicothoracic junction was appropriate in the current case for complete resection of the tumor as well as to prevent postoperative structural weakness that could result in late segmental instability. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart.