[A rare cause of spinal cord compression: spinal epidural arachnoid cyst (about 3 cases)]

Spinal epidural arachnoid cyst (SEAC) is a benign condition whose pathophysiology is still uncertain. It is most commonly asymptomatic but it can cause severe neurological sequelae especially when treatment is not received in time. We conducted a retrospective study of three patients treated for SEAC conducted in the Neurosurgery Department, Hassan II University Hospital, Fez. We report the case of two male patients and a woman, with an average age of 35 years (range: 16-56 years), admitted with slow progressive spinal cord compression. All patients underwent spinal cord MRI showing epidural fluid collection, having the same signal as that of cerebrospinal fluid, compressing the opposite marrow. The collection was located in the chest in all cases. All patients underwent surgery via posterior approach for cyst resection and cyst neck ligation in two cases and dural plasty in a single case. Anatomo-pathologic examination showed arachnoid cysts. Postoperative outcome was simple in all cases. This study aims to update the current understanding of this pathology while insisting on the need for early management given its tendency toward gradual worsening in the absence of adapt therapy. It also aims to review the clinical, paraclinical and therapeutic features of this condition.