Nuclear magnetic resonance computerised tomography (NMR-CT) in early diagnosis of dumbbell neuroblastoma.

This is a report on a dumbbell neuroblastoma with intraspinal extension first noted by 99mTc-HMDP imaging and CT, and confirmed by NMR-CT before the symptoms of spinal cord compression become clear. Paravertebral neuroblastoma and its intraspinal involvement were successfully excised following laminectomy and abdominal surgery without any residual neurologic complications. We report this case to emphasise that NMR-CT was particularly useful to diagnose the extent of intraspinal portion of the tumour, and should be performed in any patient who presents with neuroblastoma adjacent to the vertebral body.