Meningeal Melanocytoma of the Lumbar Spinal Region: A Unique and Unusual Presentation

Abstract

Meningeal melanocytoma of the central nervous system is a rare primary melanocytic neoplasm arising from the leptomeninges’ melanocytes. It chiefly occurs in the posterior cranial fossa and rarely involves the spinal cord. The literature is bereft of lumbar spinal involvement by meningeal melanocytomas. Herein, we present a 17-year-old male patient who was incidentally diagnosed with a lumbar spinal meningeal melanocytoma during an imaging workup for backache following a fall. It was an extramedullary intradural tumor and was amenable to complete surgical removal in the spinal region. This case report highlights the importance of keeping the possibility of meningeal melanocytoma as a differential diagnosis of circumscribed intradural extramedullary neoplasms.