[Syringosubarachnoid shunt for noncommunicating syringomyelia associated with spinal lipoma: a case report]

Noncommunicating syringomyelia may complicate repeated untethering procedures in patients with spinal lipomas. Surgical intervention is indicated when syringomyelia is symptomatic. However, the preferred surgical procedure for noncommunicating syringomyelia associated with spinal lipomas has not been established. The authors report a case of noncommunicating syringomyelia associated with a spinal lipoma which was successfully treated with a syringosubarachnoid (S-S) shunt. The patient was a 9-year-old girl with a past history of an excision of a dermal sinus at the age of three months and an untethering of the spinal cord at the age of five. She developed a gait disturbance in the year prior to surgery, and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study demonstrated syringomyelia from the second thoracic vertebra to the fourth lumbar vertebra. S-S shunt surgery successfully addressed the syringomyelia without adverse events, and a follow-up MRI study showed reduction of the size of the lesion. S-S shunt placement was therefore considered to be an effective treatment option for noncommunicating syringomyelia associated with a spinal lipoma.