SPINAL MENINGIOMA

30 patients with spinal meningiomas operated upon at zagazig University Hospitals, Neurosurgery Department. 23 were females and 7 were males. The mean age was 43 years. Pain was the most frequent presenting symptom followed by sensory changes and motor weakness. Tumors were located mainly in the thoracic area (80% of patients) followed by the cervical area (16.7%) and lastly the lumbar area in only one patient (3.3%). The tumor located lateral to the cord in 63.3%, posterior in 26.7%, and anterior in 10 % of patients. Complete surgical removal was achieved in 28 patients (93.3%). Meningotheliomatous meningioma was found in 19 patients (63.3%) followed by fibroblastic meningioma in 7 patients (23.3%). Functional recovery was achieved in 24 patients (80%), 2 patients (6.7%) showed some neurological deterioration and 4 patients (13.3%) showed no improvement.