Anterior cervical arachnoid cyst.

Abstract

This report is composed of two patients with anteriorly located cervical intradural arachnoid cyst and review of 24 cases in Englishlanguage literature. Both of our patients were in the first two decades of life with neck pain and motor weakness. With suspicious diagnosis of anterior arachnoid cyst surgery was carried out in both cases, though laminectomy in one and laminoplasty in the other. The cyst wall was widely fenestrated with subsequent subtotal excision of the cyst. Both cases had good long-term outcome. The review disclosed male predominance. 73% of the patients were diagnosed within the first two decades of life. Neck pain and motor weakness were the dominant signs and symptoms of this pathology. Magnetic resonance imaging showing a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) containing cyst was the best mode of diagnosis. Wide cyst fenestration with waying CSF into subarachnoid cyst was the most appropriate and applied surgery with optimal outcome.