[Spinal aneurysmal cyst with medullary compression. Apropos of a case with preoperative embolization]

The authors report the case of a vertebral aneurysmal bone cyst, at the thoracic level, with spinal cord compression. 16 months after operation, the initial neurological signs reappeared. Selective angiography pointed out a good picture, through not specific, of the lesion; the embolisation, then performed, provided considerable relief for the complete removal of the important vascular bone formation. The diagnostic, therapeutic and pathogenic problems of the vertebral aneurysmal bone cysts are discussed.