Intractable Scapular Pain Due to Undiagnosed Osteoid Osteoma: A Case Report

A 36-year-old female patient presented to our stroke neurology clinic for progressively worsening intractable, sharp, shooting interscapular pain radiating to the right shoulder and neck, which she had experienced for 4 years. She had previously seen an orthopedist and was referred to a neurosurgeon for surgical intervention after an MRI of the cervical spine showed the C3–C4 right vertebral artery loop protruding into the right C3–C4 neural foramen and compressing the exiting C4 nerve root. MR neurography showed a stable tortuous right vertebral artery loop, causing a mass effect on the dorsal root ganglion. A neuroforaminal decompression surgery was planned. However, the patient visited our stroke neurology clinic for a second opinion before surgery. An MRI of the thoracic spine showed an enhancing soft tissue mass at the right T4–T5 pedicles and adjacent body. A chest CT with contrast showed a 1 cm radiolucent lesion in the superior articular facet of T5, which represented a nidus. A technetium bone scan showed focal increased uptake within the right T5 pedicle, which is indicative of osteoid osteoma. The patient underwent laminectomy/resection and was pain-free at a 6-month follow-up; biopsy confirmed osteoid osteoma. This case illustrates the importance of neurolocalization during diagnostic testing.