title: Synovial cyst of dens causing spinal cord compression. Case report.
abstract: We report a rare case of synovial cyst of the dens (odontoid process) in a 61 year old women with no previous history of trauma. She had progressive symptoms of 1 year's duration due to spinal cord compression. Magnetic resonance imaging of cervical spine revealed a large mass posterior to the dens which was compressing the spinal cord near the cervicomedullary junction. This lesion was at first considered radiologically to represent an exuberant pannus formation or a meningioma of the foramen magnum, but subsequent surgical intervention and pathological examination revealed that it was a synovial cyst. Similar cases reported in the literature are reviewed and discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of California Irvine Medical Center.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Choe
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Walot
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schlesinger
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chambi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D009809:Odontoid Process; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000209:etiology*; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000150:complications; D013581:Synovial Cyst / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery