Radionuclide Cisternography Revealed Neck Cyst Formed by Cerebrospinal Fluid Leakage After Cervical Spine Surgery.

Abstract

A 71-year-old man presented with nausea, vomiting, headache, and neck swelling two months after cervical spine surgery. Initial brain computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed ventricular dilation, suggestive of hydrocephalus. However, radionuclide cisternography subsequently demonstrated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage into a prevertebral cyst, rather than normal pressure hydrocephalus, thereby confirming communication between the prevertebral cyst and the spinal canal. These findings suggest that the patient's postoperative symptoms were likely attributable to CSF leakage, underscoring the diagnostic utility of cisternography in differentiating postoperative complications following cervical spine surgery.