title: Spinal extradural arachnoid cyst.
abstract: Spinal extradural arachnoid cyst (SEAC) is a rare disease and uncommon cause of compressive myelopathy. The etiology remains still unclear. We experienced 2 cases of SEACs and reviewed the cases and previous literatures. A 59-year-old man complained of both leg radiating pain and paresthesia for 4 years. His MRI showed an extradural cyst from T12 to L3 and we performed cyst fenestration and repaired the dural defect with tailored laminectomy. Another 51-year-old female patient visited our clinical with left buttock pain and paresthesia for 3 years. A large extradural cyst was found at T1-L2 level on MRI and a communication between the cyst and subarachnoid space was illustrated by CT-myelography. We performed cyst fenestration with primary repair of dural defect. Both patients' symptoms gradually subsided and follow up images taken 1-2 months postoperatively showed nearly disappeared cysts. There has been no documented recurrence in these two cases so far. Tailored laminotomy with cyst fenestration can be a safe and effective alternative choice in treating SEACs compared to traditional complete resection of cyst wall with multi-level laminectomy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Han Yu
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Seong
authors.forename: Sung Woo
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Roh
keywords: Arachnoid cyst; Cerebrospinal fluid; Thoracolumbar spine