Aspiration of intraspinal synovial cyst: recurrence after temporal improvement

Intraspinal synovial cyst primarily occurs in the lumbar spine and may cause back pain and compression nerve disturbance. Percutaneous aspiration has been recommended as an alternative to surgery in three cases. We report on two patients who improved after aspiration of gelatinous material and steroid injection but whose cyst recurred within a short period of time. There are reportedly two types of synovial cyst: One contains serosanguineous fluid and the other gelatinous fluid. These two types are indistinguishable on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. The results of all patients whose aspirated material was gelatinous were unsuccessful, including our cases. Thus, the outcome may depend on the pathology of the cyst.