Can lumbar hemorrhagic synovial cyst cause acute radicular compression? Case report

• Main Authors: Luciana Sátiro Timbó, Laercio Alberto Rosemberg, Reynaldo André Brandt, Ricardo Botticini Peres, Olavo Kyosen Nakamura, Juliana Frota Guimarães
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Israelita de Ensino e Pesquisa Albert Einstein
• Series: Einstein (São Paulo)
• Subjects: Doenças da coluna vertebral; Cisto sinovial/cirurgia; Cisto sinovial/complicações; Hematoma; Síndromes de compressão nervosa/etiologia; Imagem por ressonância magnética; Relatos de casos
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-45082014000400509&lng=en&tlng=en
• ISSN: 2317-6385

Lumbar synovial cysts are an uncommon cause of back pain and radiculopathy, usually manifesting with gradual onset of symptoms, secondary to involvement of the spinal canal. Rarely, intracyst hemorrhage occurs, and may acutely present as radicular - or even spinal cord - compression syndrome. Synovial cysts are generally associated with degenerative facets, although the pathogenesis has not been entirely established. We report a case of bleeding complication in a synovial cyst at L2-L3, adjacent to the right interfacet joint, causing acute pain and radiculopathy in a patient on anticoagulation therapy who required surgical resection.