Undifferentiated presentation of unilateral agenesis of a cervical pedicle and a contiguous vertebral hemangioma: illustrative case

Abstract

BACKGROUND Unilateral agenesis of a cervical pedicle is a known rare entity that has been well described over the past 70 years. It is usually an incidental or minimally symptomatic presentation with no significant clinical repercussion. No previous report has described concurrent non-osseous developmental abnormalities alongside this unique pathology. OBSERVATIONS This case reported a cervical hemangioma with associated unilateral pedicle agenesis and an incidental finding of callosal dysgenesis and lipoma. The initial presentation consisted solely of persistent neck pain, with cervical radiography illustrating significant kyphotic deformity secondary to apparent anterolisthesis of C3-C4. The patient underwent a combined approach: anterior cervical corpectomy at C4-C5 with supplemental posterior fusion. The authors provided a review of the literature concerning developmental pedicle abnormalities and vertebral hemangioma. Pedicle agenesis is known to be associated with multiple pathologies, but the authors have not found evidence of a clinical paradigm consisting of a vertebral hemangioma in the presence of cervical pedicle agenesis, callosal dysgenesis, or callosal lipoma. LESSONS Careful evaluation of radiographs with appropriate subsequent multimodal imaging is key to identifying unique pathologies in the spine that complement a patient’s history and clinical findings. If multiple abnormalities are noted, a novel clinical etiology or syndrome must be considered.