title: Cystic lesion of the ventriculus terminalis in an adult.
abstract: We present a 40-year-old man with conus medullaris syndrome secondary to a cystic lesion of the ventriculus terminalis (CLVT) and review the relevant literature. The patient presented with 4 years of worsening right leg weakness, and examination showed bilateral fasciculations and hyporeflexia. MRI showed a cystic lesion at T11-12. He was managed with a T11-12 laminectomy and fenestration of an intramedullary cyst. A total of 32 patients, including ours, have been described since 1968: 24 were female with a mean age of 46.6 years. All patients presented symptomatically: five were managed conservatively, four using percutaneous aspiration under MRI guidance, and 22 with open surgery. We conclude that symptomatic patients are best managed surgically, although percutaneous aspiration is an emerging technique.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia. ranadhillon@email.com
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Dhillon
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: McKelvie
authors.forename: Y Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murphy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D020863:Central Nervous System Cysts / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007796:Laminectomy; D008297:Male; D013117:Spinal Cord Compression / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae