Cystic mature teratoma of the thoracic region in a child: An unusual case

Cystic mature teratomas of the spinal cord are rare lesions. Teratomas account for up to 0.1% of all spinal cord tumors. Teratomas include tissues that originate from the three germ layers. Several congenital disorders may accompany the teratoma. Teratomas are classified as mature, immature or malignant type according to their histological characteristics. Thoracic spinal teratomas are uncommon in the pediatric age group. More than half of the patients are adults. We present herein a five-year-old male patient who was referred to our clinic with cystic mature teratoma at the T12 level.