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Case Reports
. 2024 Feb 26;16(2):e54934.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.54934. eCollection 2024 Feb.

Lumbar Spine Ganglion Cyst: A Case Report

Fahad Alhelal  1 , Sami Alissa  1 , Majed Abaalkhail  1 , Raed M Almousa  2 , Dana W AlDughiman  3 , Hassan Khdary  3 , Mohammed Alharbi  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Lumbar Spine Ganglion Cyst: A Case Report

Fahad Alhelal et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Ganglion cysts are typically periarticular soft tissue lesions commonly found in the wrist and forearm, with spinal involvement being rare. We present a clinical case of a 54-year-old female with a ganglion cyst at the L3-L4 level, causing radiculopathy symptoms. Despite initial difficulty in diagnosis due to MRI findings, surgical resection confirmed the extradural mass as a ganglion cyst. Postoperative recovery was uneventful, with immediate relief of radiculopathy symptoms. Challenges included distinguishing between synovial and ganglion cysts and accurately locating the cyst intraoperatively. This case highlights the importance of considering ganglion cysts in the differential diagnosis of spinal lesions and underscores the efficacy of surgical management for symptomatic relief.

Keywords: lumbar spine surgery; lumbosacral radiculopathy; sciatica; spinal ganglion cyst; spine injuries.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The patient's MRI findings
Axial view (A) and sagittal view (B) show intraspinal lesions at L3–L4 with no disc bulging or herniation.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Intraoperative lumbar X-ray
Anteroposterior (AP) view (A) and lateral view (B) post posterior decompression with rod and transpedicular screws at L3-L4 level. There were no hardware-related complications. The vertebral body heights and alignment are maintained. Post-surgical changes are noted.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Hematoxylin & eosin stain
The panoramic view of the cyst (A) shows that the cyst is unilocular. The 10x magnification of the cyst (B) shows that the cyst wall is composed of dense collagen with myxoid changes (asterisk) and no epithelial lining (arrowhead) and focal inflammation and granulation tissue formation (arrow) is seen.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Postoperative lumbar X-ray
Anteroposterior (AP) view (A) and lateral view (B) show no significant changes since the previous study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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