Surgical Treatment of Lumbar Spinal Discal Cyst: Is It Enough to Remove the Cyst Only without Following Discectomy?

Surgical Treatment of Lumbar Spinal Discal Cyst: Is It Enough to Remove the Cyst Only without Following Discectomy? Neurol Med Chir (Tokyo). 2019 May 09;: Authors: Park JW, Lee BJ, Jeon SR, Rhim SC, Park JH, Roh SW Abstract Discal cysts are a rare cause of low back pain and radiculopathy with unknown pathophysiologic mechanism. Associated symptoms are difficult to distinguish from those caused by extruded discs and other spinal canal lesions. Most discal cysts are treated surgically, but it is unclear whether the corresponding intervertebral disc should be excised along with cyst. We conducted a retrospective clinical review of 27 patients who underwent discal cyst excision at our institution between 2000 and 2017. The mean follow-up period was 63.6 months. We recorded symptoms, radiographs, operative findings, postoperative complications, and short- and long-term outcomes. Structured outcome assessment was based on Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain intensity, Oswestry disability index, and Macnab classification. All patients underwent partial hemilaminectomy and microscopic cyst resection without discectomy. All patients had preoperative back or leg pain. Other preoperative clinical features included motor weakness, neurogenic intermittent claudication, and cauda equina syndrome. After surgery, NRS scores of back and leg pain decreased. The other symptoms also improved. During long-term follow-up, patients reported no restrictions...
Source: Neurologia Medico-Chirurgica - Category: Neurosurgery Tags: Neurol Med Chir (Tokyo) Source Type: research