Pseudoenhancement of intervertebral disc herniation.

Two patients with intervertebral disc herniation appeared to demonstrate abnormally diffuse and intense enhancement of the disc after intravenous administration of gadolinium-DTPA for MRI. Surgery disclosed a dilated epidural venous plexus in one and vascular granulation tissue in the other, associated with the herniated disc material. The mechanism of this "pseudoenhancement" of the disc appears to be a partial volume effect of disc material and the adjacent veins or granulation tissue. Pseudoenhancement of a herniated disc should be included in the differential diagnosis of a diffusely enhancing epidural mass.