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Review
. 2018 Nov;41(6):741-747.
doi: 10.1080/10790268.2018.1474680. Epub 2018 May 23.

The cystic dilation of ventriculus terminalis with neurological symptoms: Three case reports and a literature review

Iraj Lotfinia  1 , Ata Mahdkhah  2
Affiliations
Review

The cystic dilation of ventriculus terminalis with neurological symptoms: Three case reports and a literature review

Iraj Lotfinia et al. J Spinal Cord Med. 2018 Nov.

Abstract

Context: The ventriculus terminalis (VT) is a very small ependymal-lined residual lumen in the conus medullaris. It is normally present in all subjects during fetal development. VT in adults appears as an unusual pathology with an uncertain pathogenesis.

Findings: In this paper, we described three case reports of symptomatic fifth ventricle cystic dilations. All of them were female and their mean age was 59 years. We treated them surgically and all three patients were improved based on clinical and imaging assessments.

Conclusion: Our cases suggested that surgical decompression was a safe and effective treatment in symptomatic patients and the neurosurgeons should be aware of such rare situations. A complete list of differential diagnosis about other cystic dilations of the conus medullaris should be emphasized to select the correct clinical approach.

Keywords: Cyst; Spinal cord; Ventriculus terminalis.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The cystic dilation of the ventriculus terminalis with an intensity similar to that of CSF. 1A shows a T1 (Case 3), 1B shows a T2 (Case 1), and 1C shows an axial T2 section (Case 1).
Figure 2
Figure 2
No abnormal enhancement of the cystic wall or the cyst itself can be seen after a contrast injection (Case 3).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The cystic dilation of the ventriculus terminalis from an intraoperative view (Case 2).
Figure 4
Figure 4
MRIs of patients during follow-up periods (two years after their surgeries), which show the significant reduction of their cysts’ sizes, from sagittal (A) and axial (B) views.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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