Summary
Syringomyelia is an uncommon disease that is caused most often by type I Chiari malformation, which develops in the hindbrain, and less frequently by other factors which are not limited to the hindbrain, including trauma, infection, or scoliosis. Idiopathic syringomyelia is rare. We present in this article a patient with idiopathic syringomyelia characterized by hypoesthesia and progressive weakness in the left lower limb. Decompression was attempted by means of laminectomy and a syringoarachnoid shunt. Motor, sensory, and bladder functions were monitored by the change in Japanese Orthopedic Association scores, which increased from 10 points preoperatively to 14 points 30 days postoperatively. This case demonstrates the effectiveness of surgical decompression in a patient with remarkable neurological deficit.
Access provided by Autonomous University of Puebla. Download to read the full chapter text
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Kyoshima K, Bogdanov EI (2003) Spontaneous resolution of syringomyelia: report of two cases and review of the literature. J Neurosurg 53: 762–769
Iwasaki Y, Hida K, Koyanagi I, Abe H (2000) Reevaluation of syringosubarachnoid shunt for syringomyelia with Chiari malformation. J Neurosurg 46: 407–415
Goldstein JH, Kaptain GJ, Huy MD et al (1998) CT-guided percutaneous drainage of syringomyelia. J Comput Assist Tomogr 22: 984–988
Hilton EL, Henderson LJ (2003) Neurosurgical considerations in posttraumatic syringomyelia. AORN 77: 135–156
Sgouros S, Williams B (1996) Management and outcome of posttraumatic syringomyelia. J Neurosurg 85: 197–205
Andreas K, Thomas N, Helge T (2001) Spontaneous resolution of idiopathic syringomyelia. Neurology 57: 1519–1520
Sherman JL, Barkovich AJ, Citrin CM (1987) The MR appearance of syringomyelia: new observations. AJR Am J Roentgenol 148: 381–391
Sgouros S, Williams B (1995) A critical appraisal of drainage of syringomyelia. J Neurosurg 82: 1–10
Ball MJ, Dayan AD (1972) Pathogenesis of syringomyelia. Lancet 2: 799–801
Gardner WJ (1965) Hydrodynamic mechanism of syringomyelia: its relationship to myelocele. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 28: 247–259
Gardner WJ, Angel J (1959) The mechanism of syringomyelia and its surgical correction. Clin Neurosurg 6: 131–140
Williams B (1970) Current concepts of syringomyelia. Br J Hosp Med 4: 331–342
Williams B (1980) On the pathogenesis of syringomyelia: a review. J R Soc Med 73: 798–806
Caplan LR, Norohna AB, Amico LL (1990) Syringomyelia and arachnoiditis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 53: 106–113
Stoodley MA, Gutschmidt B, Jones NR (1999) Cerebrospinal fluid flow in an animal model of non-communicating syringomyelia. J Neurosurg 44: 1065–1076
Schurch B, Wichmann W, Rossier AB (1996) Post-traumatic syringomyelia (cystic myelopathy): a prospective study of 449 patients with spinal cord injury. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 60: 61–67
Lee TT, Alameda GJ, Camilo E et al (2001) Surgical treatment of post-traumatic myelopathy associated with syringomyelia. Spine 26: 119–127
Sun JC, Steinbok P, Cochrane DD (2000) Spontaneous resolution and recurrence of a Chiari I malformation and associated syringomyelia: case report. J Neurosurg 92[Suppl] 2: 207–210
Jack CRJ, Kokmen E, Onofrio BM (1991) Spontaneous decompression of syringomyelia: magnetic resonance imaging findings. Case report. J Neurosurg 74: 283–286
Santoro A, Delfini R, Innocenzi G et al (1993) Spontaneous drainage of syringomyelia: report of two cases. J Neurosurg 79: 132–134
Yeager BA, Lusser MA (1992) Spontaneous resolution of idiopathic syringomyelia: MR features. J Comput Assist Tomogr 16: 323–324
Bindal AK, Dunsker SB, Tew JM Jr (1995) Chiari I malformation: classification and management. J Neurosurg 37: 1069–1074
John KR, Paul RC (2003) Cervical laminoplasty: a critical review. J Neurosurg 98: 230–238
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2006 Springer-Verlag
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lin, J.W. et al. (2006). Idiopathic syringomyelia: case report and review of the literature. In: Chang, J.W., Katayama, Y., Yamamoto, T. (eds) Advances in Functional and Reparative Neurosurgery. Acta Neurochirurgica Supplementum, vol 99. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-35205-2_22
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-211-35205-2_22
Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna
Print ISBN: 978-3-211-35204-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-211-35205-2
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)