Cervical foraminal lipoma is a rare cause of cervical radiculopathy.We report the case of a 47-year-old woman who presented with a 1-year history of right arm pain and paresthesia that was refractory to conservative treatment.Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a well-defined mass within the right C5-6 neural foramen, causing compression of the exiting C6 nerve root.The patient underwent microsurgical excision via posterior cervical laminoforaminotomy.Intraoperatively, a lipomatous mass compressing the nerve root was identified and completely removed.Histopathological examination confirmed a benign lipoma.Postoperatively, the patient experienced marked symptomatic improvement, with no recurrence of symptoms at a 6-month follow-up.Although it is uncommon, cervical foraminal lipoma should be considered in patients with persistent radiculopathy and atypical imaging findings, and surgical excision can provide favorable clinical outcomes.
Kim et al. (Thu,) studied this question.