| Foraminal Synovial Cyst Associated with Ankylosing Spondylitis. |
| Heyun Sung Kim, Chang Il Ju, Seok Won Kim |
1Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea.
2Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea. ns64902@hanmail.net |
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| ABSTRACT |
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Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is frequently associated with inflammatory lesions of the spine and continuous fatigue stress fractures; however, an association with an intraspinal synovial cyst has not been previously reported.
A 55-year-old man with a five year history of AS who presented with back pain and a right radiculopathy was admitted to the hospital. Five years previously, he underwent a percutaneous vertebroplasty for an osteoporotic L1 compression fracture, and was diagnosed with AS at that time. Plain radiographs showed aggravated kyphosis and a stress fracture through the ossified posterior element, below the prior vertebroplasty. Magnetic resonance images revealed a right foraminal cystic lesion at the L2-L3 level with effacement of the nerve root. A 1.6 cm cystic lesion that appeared to arise from the L2-L3 facet joint without direct communication was excised from the L2-L3 foramen.
Pathological examination confirmed synovial cyst. The patient's symptoms resolved immediately after surgery except for a mild dysesthesia of the right leg. We report herein a rare case of foraminal synovial cyst associated with AS accompanying posterior element fracture with a review of literature. |
| Key Words:
Synovial cyst; Ankylosing spondylitis |
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