Turkish Neurosurgery
2008 , Vol 18 , Num 2
Management of Spinal Synovial Cysts
Ankara University, Medical Faculty Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara, Turkey
OBJECTIVE: The report aimed to present the outcome of surgical management
of spinal synovial cyst. Methods: The study was a retrospective review of six
patients surgically treated between January 2005 and September 2007. The
patients were evaluated in preoperative and postoperative periods. Evaluation
was done by questionnaire scoring system. According to this system, categories
were; excellent,good, fair, and poor. Results: The duration of follow-up ranged
between 3 months and 42 months (mean: 23.3 months; SD: 13.0). Synovial cysts
were located in the lumbar spine in 4 of 6 patients. In the other 2 patients, they
were in the cervical and thoracal regions. Three patients were female, and three
were male. The results of the lumbar group were better than those of the other
groups in early period. The findings of the follow-up evaluations were better than
those determined in the early postoperative period in all the groups. Conclusions:
Surgery is an effective treatment for spinal synovial cysts, especially for lumbar
synovial cysts.
Keywords :
Synovial cyst, Spine, Surgery