Spinal cord malignant melanotic schwannoma (MMNST) is a rare central nervous system tumor that originates from the spinal cord or spinal myelin sheath cells and can produce melanin. This type of tumor is usually highly aggressive and malignant, with a poor prognosis. The clinical manifestations of spinal cord MMNST are mainly pain, paresthesia, muscle weakness, muscle atrophy, etc., and symptoms of spinal cord compression, such as intestinal and bladder dysfunction, paraplegia, etc. Early detection of tumor lesions can facilitate tumor removal, improve patients\' quality of life, and prolong patients\' survival. In this case report, a 27-year-old young woman was diagnosed with MMNST of the cervical spinal cord due to weakness of her limbs in our hospital, and underwent surgical resection. The patient\'s limbs returned to normal after surgery. It is worth mentioning that the patient visited our hospital 7 months ago for \"right upper limb pain for 3 days\" and was diagnosed with a cervical spine space-occupying lesion at the same position this time, but the pathology report was \"hemosiderosis\". The patient\'s limbs returned to normal after surgery. It is worth mentioning that the patient visited our hospital 7 months ago for \"right upper limb pain for 3 days\" and was diagnosed with a cervical spine space-occupying lesion at the same position this time, but the pathology report was \"hemosiderosis\". This case report aims to raise awareness of the problem of spinal cord MMNST and contribute to greater knowledge of this rare tumor. This case report aims to raise awareness of the problem of spinal cord MMNST and contribute to greater knowledge of this rare tumor.

Primary malignant melanotic nerve sheath tumours, previously called Melanotic schwannomas are rare pigmented tumours of nerve sheath origin, with unspecified biologic behaviour and uncommon presentation in the head and neck region. A primary melanotic schwannoma of the cervical sympathetic plexus, mimicking a cervical lymphadenopathy requires careful evaluation and planning for an optimal outcome. The management of these neoplasms is still controversial, and hence we present a case report with insight into the diagnostic dilemma in work-up of a neck mass that turned out to be a Primary Malignant Melanotic Schwannoma arising from the cervical sympathetic plexus along with a review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Malignant melanotic schwannian tumors (MMSTs) are rare peripheral nerve sheath tumors that typically exhibit benign clinical presentation and histopathology but malignant long-term behavior.
METHODS: We report a case of a 22-year-old male with a T9-11 MMST who presented with acute paraplegia and complete loss of sacral function. Despite emergent decompression, he did not recover motor, sensory or bladder function, although bowel function did normalize.
CONCLUSIONS: The anatomic location and rapid presentation of permanent deficits are suggestive of infarction of the spinal cord supplied by the artery of Adamkiewicz, a rare presentation of this disorder and of spinal schwannomas in general.