Haemangioma of the thoracic spine

The presence of a tumour usually caused fear and worry because it comes with long and dangerous treatment and you are not always guaranteed of recovery as there could be complications. However, not all cases ae severe, such as haemangioma of the thoracic spine which can be treated without the need for surgery.

What is haemangioma?

This is a type of benign tumour that contains intertwined vessels. It usually affects only one vertebra. Haemangioma rarely grows into a cancerous tumour. After a patient is attacked, they usually have enough time to treat the disease without any bad consequences.

Such a tumour can be of different kinds:

• Racemous (branching): This is where both veins and arteries get into the interweaving.
• Capillary: Forms a ball of intertwined capillaries.
• Mixed: Combines vessels and cavities of all kinds.

In most cases, haemangioma is formed in the thoracic spine. Depending on the region of the vertebra that it is located in, there are three more variants of the tumour which can be identified:

• In the vertebral process
• In the body of the vertebra
• In the spinal canal

Symptoms and signs

Haemangioma does not have specific signs and symptoms but development of the tumour can be accompanied by various signs and symptoms such as:

• Severe pain in the affected area
• Numbness in the limbs and disturbance of organs because the tumour compresses nerve endings;
• If the disease is ignored there can be cracks in the spine, weakness, paralysis of the limbs and gastrointestinal disorders. Moreover, the larger the tumour, the more organs will be affected. This is where the danger of the thoracic injury lies.

However, the disease becomes serious if it manifests itself further. The patient will immediately notice that something is wrong but the symptoms will be just like those of other spine conditions such as hernias, protrusions and injuries after engaging in physical activity. For this reason it is not necessary that you trust a doctor who makes a diagnosis only after a physical examination. It is better to be safe and undergo a qualitative examination that will involve pictures which will distinguish haemangioma from hernia or osteochondrosis.

What if it’s not cured on time?

If the patient does not want to go to the hospital and decides to associated the disease with fatigue or age then the disease can escalate to the neglected stage. Unfortunately, this poses a threat to patients who

If the patient does not want to go to the hospital and feels the condition is associated with fatigue or age, the disease can be neglected. Unfortunately, this threatens the life of patients who go to unscrupulous doctors. It is impossible to diagnose haemangioma without conducting additional examination so as to prevent undergoing treatment for a totally different disease.

When haemangioma is in its latter stages, the thoracic spine will become very weak and there may be growth of a tumour. It usually grows, destroys the vertebra and compresses the blood vessels and nerves. This means that the patient will experience a variety of symptoms such as:

• Fatigue, drowsiness and headaches due to lack of oxygen in the brain.
• Numbness and paralysis of the limbs located below the tumours.
• Impaired internal organs: heart failure, digestive disorders, bowel movements and urination.
• If the tumour is large, there will be a compression fracture of the spine – it comes with serious consequences: osteomyelitis, improper fusion of the vertebrae of inflammation of the nerve roots.

Pain in the affected region will only increase and eventually be felt in the whole body. This causes impaired mobility, improper body posture and exacerbation of conditions related to the position of the shattered vertebrae.

How do you diagnose and treat thoracic haemangioma?

Haemangioma cannot be diagnosed using a simple visual examination. If a patient complains of back pain, some doctors fail to pay much attention to such symptoms. If the doctor does not recommend additional examinations and immediately makes a diagnosis associated with curvature of the spine then it is better if you consult another doctor. Even if you do not have haemangioma, other diseases of the spine may be diagnosed by performing X-rays, CT scans and MRI of the thoracic spine.

The tumour will be seen clearly by doing an MRI and CT scan so as to determine its location and size. The tomography perfectly differentiates bone and soft tissues as well as vessels and nerve roots. X-rays will show the bone tissue better so it can be an examination of last resort. It can also be done if the tumour is very large and if the hospital does not have modern equipment.

Treatment of haemangioma can e done in various ways such as through radiotherapy, puncture vertabrolastics (introduction of medicines in the tumour area) and through surgery. The method of treatment will be decided by the doctor depending on the stage and complexity of the disease. Old ways of treating the disease can cause severe complications, tissue death and allergic reactions but modern methods are absolutely safe. The most important thing is to take not of the disease in its early stages and consult the doctor so that treatment can be started early. Even though haemangioma of the thoracic region is a disease that can be treated in a short while, it can also be severe if neglected. However, if the disease is diagnosed early, treatment will be quick without any adverse side effects.