Capillary haemangiomas are well-circumscribed aggregates of closely packed, thin-walled capillaries separated by connective tissue stroma. In subcutaneous tissue they are termed pyogenic granuloma and commonly follow trauma. They rarely occur in the spine. We present a 43-year-old woman with a 6-week history of thoracic myelopathy and back pain on a background of T7 and T8 vertebral compression fractures from a motor vehicle accident 10 years previously. MRI demonstrated a posteriorly based extradural homogeneously enhancing mass at this level. The lesion was resected and diagnosed histopathologically as a capillary haemangioma. The patient's symptoms resolved and she made an uneventful recovery. The literature is reviewed and the possible pathogenesis is discussed.
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