Significant clinical and radiological resolution of a spinal cord syrinx following the release of a tethered cord in a patient with an anatomically normal conus medullaris. Case report.
The authors describe a case of progressive neurological deficit caused by syringomyelia in a 7-year-old boy with a normally positioned conus medullaris. This deficit responded favorably to surgical untethering of the filum terminale, with subsequent clinical and radiological improvement. The authors discuss the implications of their findings in the context of the current understanding of the pathophysiology of tethered cord syndrome, particularly in relation to the ongoing debate in the neurosurgical literature.
Caird
John
J
Department of Neurosurgery, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, United Kingdom.
Flynn
Peter
P
McConnell
Robert S
RS
D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D011859:Radiography; D020127:Recovery of Function; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*