Charcot Joint of the Spine with Long Term Survival and Return to Near Full Function

Charcot joints of the spine are rare entities which mimic low grade soft tissue malignancies by appearing as a destructive mass lesion on radiographic studies. We report a 42-year-old diabetic female, who presented with a mass-like lesion of the thoracic spine extending into the posterior mediastinum. She presented with hemiplegia. With conservative treatment and without mechanical stabilization or instrumentation of the spine, the patient was able to undergo rehabilitation and is alive ten years after presentation.