Spinal cord compression as initial presentation of metastatic occult follicular thyroid carcinoma

ABSTRACTMetastatic tumors are the most common tumors of the spine, accounting for 98% of all spine lesions. But spinal cord compression as the initial presentation of metastatic occult follicular carcinoma without any thyroid enlargement is unusual and relatively rare. This report describes a 35-years-old female patient presenting with paraplegia and urinary incontinence for the last two months. She had no thyroid enlargement; no thyroid related symptoms and her biochemical thyroid profile was normal. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of spine shows a huge mass compressing the spinal cord at D11-D12 involving both the spinal and paraspinal areas. The patient was treated by surgery and radioiodine ablation as the histopathology showed metastatic follicular thyroid carcinoma. This case was reported because of the rarity of the disease. Early diagnosis and initiation of the treatment should promise a good prognosis for a patient with metastatic spinal cord compression.