Late results of the surgical treatment of syringomyelia.
97 patients with syringomyelia were treated surgically during the last 12 years. Only those patients in which the disease showed rapid progression in the last 1/2-1 year were operated. Of these 97 patients 54 were followed for 5 years or longer. 28 patients were treated by suboccipital decompression, 17 by terminal ventriculostomy, 4 by myelotomy and syringo-subarachnoid shunt; 5 had a combination of two procedures. Very good results were obtained in 12 patients (22%), satisfactory-in 31 (58%) and poor results-in 11 (20%). Very good results were more often achieved after suboccipital decompression, but each method had as well excellent as unsatisfactory results, and the number of the patients is too small as to allow statistically significant conclusions. It is almost impossible to predict the result of the surgical treatment in syringomyelia, but good results were obtained most often in young patients with relatively short duration of the disease. However, it is not the rule. Satisfactory results can even be obtained in older patients with long lasting disease and poor neurological status. The best method of surgical treatment is still under discussion.
Bidziński
J
J
Department of Neurosurgery, Academy of Medicine, Warsaw, Poland.
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000601:surgery; D013595:Syringomyelia / Q000601:surgery*; D014696:Ventriculostomy