Intraspinal epidermoid and dermoid cysts. Surgical results of seven cases

Seven cases of intraspinal inclusion cysts, surgically treated between 1970 and 1984, are reported in this paper. Four were epidermoid cysts and three dermoid. Two cysts were located in the thoracic spine (one dermoid and one epidermoid) and five in the lumbosacral region (three epidermoid and two dermoid). Associated spinal dysraphia was noted in five cases. Congenital dermal sinus was found in two cases, spina bifida cystica in one, spina bifida occulta in one, and diastematomyelia in one case. The average postoperative follow-up period was 5 years. No neurological symptoms were found in the five patients who received early surgical treatment, but for the two patients whose operations were late, there were some residual neurological deficits. Therefore, early and accurate diagnosis and radical surgical extirpation are emphasized.