title: Syrinx shunt to posterior fossa cisterns (syringocisternostomy) for bypassing obstructions of upper cervical theca.
abstract: Syrinx shunts to the spinal subarachnoid space are likely to fail if the cerebrospinal fluid pathways rostral to the syrinx are blocked. To bypass obstructions at or below the level of the foramen magnum, a technique was developed for shunting the syrinx to the posterior fossa cisterns, termed "syringocisternostomy." Syrinxes were shunted to the cisterna magna in two patients with spinal arachnoiditis and to the cerebellopontine angle cistern in four patients with Chiari I malformations. There was symptomatic improvement and collapse of the syrinx in each case, with no complications or recurrences over a follow-up interval of 14 to 27 months (average 20.3 months). The surgical technique and results of treatment are described.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, State University of New York Health Science Center, Brooklyn.
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Milhorat
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002557:Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts / Q000379:methods*; D003388:Cranial Fossa, Posterior; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013346:Subarachnoid Space; D013595:Syringomyelia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*