SYRINGOMYELIA - A CLINICAL REVIEW OF 75 CASES

Abstract

Records of 75 patients with syringomyelia are reviewed. Their clinical course fell into one of three main groups: those with a long history of a steadily progressive disability; those with a long history but little or no progression of their disability; and those with a short, fairly rapid downhill course. On the basis of this study, x-ray therapy seems to be of little value in the treatment of this disease. Surgical treatment on the other hand appears to offer more hope for a selected group of patients who are progressing at the time of examination. In this group surgery is recommended in the presence of a foramen magnum anomaly with signs and symptoms related to this deformity; in the presence of a distended cord with pain and evidence of a spinal fluid block; and when the possibility of an ependymoma exists.