Abstract

Spinal arachnoid cyst is an uncommon cause of spinal cord compression and rarelycan complicate congenital cord malformations. We report a 48 year gentleman presented withprogressive spastic paraparesis of 6 months duration associated with difficulty in walking;now he was able to walk with support. MRI dorsal spine showed hypo-intense lesion on T1Wimages, becoming hyper-intense on T2W images extending from D 5-8 level. The patientunderwent D-5 to D-8 laminectomy, during surgery after opening the dura there was CSFfilled cyst. Histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of an arachnoid cyst. Aswas seen in present case, excision of thearachnoid cyst is associated with immediateimprovement of motor functions, particularly if the operation is performed prior to
development of neurological deficits.

Key words: Arachnoid cyst, intradural arachnoid cysts, spinal cord, diastematomyelia, tethered cord, myelopathy