Syringomyelia
What is syringomyelia?
Syringomyelia is a condition in which a cavity filled with fluid similar to cerebrospinal or extracellular fluid forms within the spinal cord and gradually expands, damaging the spinal nerves. The cavity may arise from dilation of the central canal of the spinal cord or may develop within the cord parenchyma, and damage to the spinal nerves can cause various types of pain, motor impairment and stiffness in the back and shoulder area.
Causes
Typical causes of blocked cerebrospinal fluid circulation include Arnold-Chiari malformation, in which part of the cerebellum protrudes into the spinal canal, spinal arachnoiditis, scoliosis, spinal cord tumor and spina bifida. Syringomyelia is also known to develop in patients with spinal cord injury from unexpected accidents and trauma. In addition, cases caused specifically by neural tethering of the filum terminale within the spinal cord are found from time to time.
Symptoms
Syringomyelia most often occurs between the ages of 25~40, and symptoms vary with the extent of spinal cord damage.
Examination
Syringomyelia is accurately diagnosed by MRI. MRI confirms the presence, size and shape of the syrinx and can also identify other spinal conditions that may cause syringomyelia, such as a spinal cord tumor or Arnold-Chiari syndrome.
Syringomyelia is treated with filum terminale cutting surgery.
Internal filum terminale cutting
It is performed in congenital cases where the filum terminale of the peripheral spinal nerve, which should naturally degenerate over time, continues to tether the nerve. It is used mainly for Arnold-Chiari syndrome, which most often occurs in young children.
View treatment details
In practice, fewer than 10% of disc patients undergo surgery. Surgical treatment is carefully considered when symptoms do not improve with conservative treatment, or when the herniated disc presses severely on the nerve and causes extreme pain or paralysis.