• Mark A Attiah, Peter P Syre, John Pierce, Elizaveta Belyaeva, and William C Welch.
• Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA. mattiah12@gmail.com.
• Eur Spine J. 2016 May 1; 25 Suppl 1: 84-8.

PurposeTo present a rare case of a giant schwannoma of the sacrum mimicking a Tarlov cyst.MethodsA 58-year-old woman had a 1-year history of low back pain. MRI revealed a large cystic mass in the sacral canal with bony erosion. Radiological diagnosis of Tarlov cyst was made.ResultsThe patient underwent surgical treatment for the lesion, which revealed a solid mass. Histopathological examination of the tumor confirmed the diagnosis of schwannoma. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient has had significant improvement in her pain 1 month postoperatively.ConclusionGiant cystic schwannoma of the sacrum is a very rare diagnosis overlooked by practitioners for more common cystic etiologies, but its treatment is significantly different. Care should be taken to include this diagnosis in a differential for a cystic sacral mass.

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