Surgical Management of Syringomyelia

ABSTRACT

Twelve patients were operated upon and diagnosed as syringomyelia at the Department of Neurosurgery of Seoul National University Hospital from July 1983 to June 1987. The etiologies were Chiari malformation(3 cases), arachnoiditis(2 cases), trauma(2 cases), neoplasm(2 cases) and idiopathic(3 cases). Four patients had foramen magnum decompression with 4th ventricle spinal subarachnoid space shunt and/or syringosubarachnoid shunt, and 7 patients underwent syringotomy or syringosubarachnoid shunt. In one case, only tumor removal was done. Functional improvement of the motor disturbance was noted only in 3 cases, in one of whom the result might be the effect of tumor removal. Pain and sensory disturbance responded well with surgery, but sphincter disturbance did not. The clinical, radiological and operative findings were correlated with theories of its pathogenesis. And the results of surgical treatment and some problems in the management of this disease entiry were discussed.