Case Report: Repeated imaging and surgical treatment of a vascular hamartoma arising from the cervical vertebral column of a cat.

A 3-year-old male neutered Domestic Shorthair cat was presented with a 1-year history of progressive right-lateralized proprioceptive ataxia, ambulatory tetraparesis and cervical spinal pain, with sudden deterioration shortly before presentation. Neurological examination was consistent with a right-sided C6-T2 myelopathy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a right-sided extradural myelocompressive lesion at the level of the C5 vertebra, associated with osseous proliferation arising from the right lamina and vertebral body, causing severe spinal cord compression and leftward deviation of the spinal cord. The mass was surgically resected, and histopathology confirmed a vertebral vascular hamartoma. Clinical signs improved after a brief period of postoperative worsening. One year later, neurological deficits recurred. MRI and computed tomography (CT) confirmed regrowth of the vertebral lesion. A second surgical excision was performed, and histopathology again confirmed a vertebral vascular hamartoma. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report describing follow-up imaging and repeated surgical intervention, with histopathological confirmation at both procedures, in a cat with recurrent cervical vertebral vascular hamartoma. It highlights vertebral vascular hamartoma as an important differential diagnosis for young cats with progressive myelopathy, extradural spinal cord compression and vertebral osseous proliferation, and suggests that surgical intervention can result in meaningful clinical improvement despite possible regrowth after incomplete resection.