Fig. 1

Preoperative lumbar MRI scans. Sagittal MRI images show a large mass extending from T11 to L3 vertebral body levels, which is isointense on T1 (a) and heterogeneous hyperintense on T2 (b). Contrast T1 axial and coronal images (c, d) show a dumbbell-shaped component of the tumor which extends through the L1–3 foramen and lies beneath the left psoas muscle. The tumor mass displaces the thecal sac to the right and erodes the posterior vertebral body