Intramedullary abscess in association with tumor at the conus medullaris. Report of two cases.

The authors report on two patients with intramedullary tumors complicated by abscess formation. Both patients experienced abrupt onset of neurological deterioration and poor surgical outcome. An intratumoral abscess developed in one, whereas the other had a tumor-associated syrinx in which an intramedullary abscess developed. Such a conversion of a syrinx into an abscess has not been reported earlier. It is septicemia that underlies all such catastrophic complications; therefore, rapid neurological deterioration should always be looked on with caution and investigated with contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. Despite poor neurological outcome in such patients, urgent surgical intervention is mandatory.