Shigekawa Seiji, Matsui Seishi, Inoue Akihiro, Shinohara Naoki, Kunieda Takeharu
Department of Neurosurgery, Ehime University School of Medicine, Toon, Japan.
Department of Neurosurgery, HITO Hospital, Shikokuchuo, Japan.
Surg Neurol Int. 2023 May 5;14:165. doi: 10.25259/SNI_120_2023. eCollection 2023.
The ventriculus terminalis (VT) is a cystic embryological remnant of the conus medullaris that usually regresses after birth. This structure rarely persists into adulthood and may produce neurological symptoms. We recently encountered three cases of symptomatic enlarging VT.
The three female patients were 78, 64, and 67 years old. Symptoms included pain, numbness, motor weakness, and frequent urination that gradually worsened. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed cystic dilatations of slow growing VT. These patients showed marked improvement after cyst-subarachnoid shunt using a syringo-subarachnoid shunt tube.
Symptomatic enlarging VT is an extremely rare cause of conus medullaris syndrome and the optimal treatment strategy remains unclear. Surgical management may thus be appropriate for patients with symptomatic enlarging VT.
终室（VT）是圆锥马尾的囊性胚胎残余物，通常在出生后退化。这种结构很少持续到成年，可能会产生神经症状。我们最近遇到了3例有症状的终室扩大病例。
3例女性患者年龄分别为78岁、64岁和67岁。症状包括疼痛、麻木、运动无力和尿频，且逐渐加重。磁共振成像显示终室缓慢扩张形成囊肿。使用脊髓蛛网膜下腔分流管进行囊肿 - 蛛网膜下腔分流术后，这些患者症状明显改善。
有症状的终室扩大是圆锥马尾综合征极为罕见的病因，最佳治疗策略仍不明确。因此，手术治疗可能适用于有症状的终室扩大患者。
