Surgical Intervention is Associated with Improvement in Health-Related Quality of Life Outcomes in Patients with Symptomatic Sacral Tarlov Cysts: Results from a Prospective Longitudinal Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE: The treatment of symptomatic Tarlov cysts remains a controversial topic within neurosurgery. We describe our experience with patients who underwent surgical intervention for sacral Tarlov cysts at a single institution. General and disease-specific outcome measures were used to assess health-related quality of life. METHODS: Patients who underwent surgical treatment for one or more sacral Tarlov cysts between 2018 and 2021 were included. The Tarlov Cyst Quality of Life (TCQoL), a validated disease-specific measure, was the primary outcome of the study. Secondary outcomes included general outcome measures: 36-Item Short Form Survey, the Oswestry Disability Index, and Visual Analog Scale. Patients were followed at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Repeated measures analyses were used to assess change from preoperative to 12 months postoperative. RESULTS: Data were obtained from 144 patients who underwent surgery for sacral Tarlov cysts, average age 52.3 ± 11.3 years, 90.3% female. Patients reported significant mean improvement on the TCQoL over time (preoperative 3.2 ± 0.1; 3-month postoperative 2.1 ± 0.1; 6-month 1.9 ± 0.1; 12-month 1.9 ± 0.1; P < 0.001). Patient age and duration of symptoms were not associated with outcome. A total of 82.3% of patients reported improvement on TCQoL. There was not a significant difference in the proportion of patients reporting improvement on TCQoL by cyst size (small 90.9% vs. large 77.9%; P = 0.066). CONCLUSIONS: Our longitudinal series demonstrated patient-reported improvement following surgery for symptomatic sacral Tarlov cysts using a validated disease-specific health-related quality of life scale through 12 months after surgery. Patient age and preoperative duration of symptoms were not correlated with outcome.

Surgical Intervention is Associated with Improved Outcomes in Patients with Symptomatic Cervical Spine Tarlov Cysts: Results from a Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Tarlov cysts are known contributors to radiculopathy but are often misdiagnosed and mismanaged due to a paucity of information. This is particularly true of cervical spine Tarlov cysts because most attention has been focused on sacral cysts. In this study, we describe our longitudinal experience with patients who underwent surgery for cervical spine Tarlov cysts. We hypothesized that patients undergoing surgical treatment for cervical spine Tarlov cysts would report improvement following surgery. METHODS: We conducted a prospective study of patients who underwent surgical treatment for cervical Tarlov cysts between 2010 and 2021. The Short-Form 36-item survey (SF-36) was administered at the preoperative and follow-up visits. Repeated measures analyses were used to assess changes from preoperatively to postoperatively. RESULTS: A total of 37 patients with cervical spine cysts were included in the study. Follow-up data were available for 27 patients with a median follow-up of 1 year. Of the cohort, 97.3% were women, with an average age of 47.5 ± 10.3 years. Patients reported statistically significant improvement in 2 of the 4 SF-36 physical health domains (physical function, P< 0.001; and bodily pain, P < 0.001) and 2 of the 4 mental health domains (vitality/energy, P < 0.003; and social functioning, P = 0.007). Patients also reported less interference in work, education, and retirement activities at follow-up (P = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS: Our longitudinal series consisted of patients with symptomatic cervical spine Tarlov cysts, which, to the best of our knowledge, is the largest series described. Significant improvements in the SF-36 domains were documented, indicating these patients can be successfully treated surgically.

Sacral Tarlov perineurial cysts: a systematic review of treatment options.

Tarlov perineurial spinal cysts (TCs) are an underrecognized cause of spinal neuropathic symptoms. TCs form within the sensory nerve root sleeves, where CSF extends distally and can accumulate pathologically. Typically, they develop at the sacral dermatomes where the nerve roots are under the highest hydrostatic pressure and lack enclosing vertebral foramina. In total, 90% of patients are women, and genetic disorders that weaken connective tissues, e.g., Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, convey considerable risk. Most small TCs are asymptomatic and do not require treatment, but even incidental visualizations should be documented in case symptoms develop later. Symptomatic TCs most commonly cause sacropelvic dermatomal neuropathic pain, as well as bladder, bowel, and sexual dysfunction. Large cysts routinely cause muscle atrophy and weakness by compressing the ventral motor roots, and multiple cysts or multiroot compression by one large cyst can cause even greater cauda equina syndromes. Rarely, giant cysts erode the sacrum or extend as intrapelvic masses. Disabling TCs require consideration for surgical intervention. The authors' systematic review of treatment analyzed 31 case series of interventional percutaneous procedures and open surgical procedures. The surgical series were smaller and reported somewhat better outcomes with longer term follow-up but slightly higher risks. When data were lacking, authorial expertise and case reports informed details of the specific interventional and surgical techniques, as well as medical, physical, and psychological management. Cyst-wrapping surgery appeared to offer the best long-term outcomes by permanently reducing cyst size and reconstructing the nerve root sleeves. This curtails ongoing injury to the axons and neuronal death, and may also promote axonal regeneration to improve somatic and autonomic sacral nerve function.

Prospective Validation of a Quality-of-Life Measure for Women Undergoing Surgical Intervention for Symptomatic Sacral Tarlov Cysts: The Tarlov Cyst Quality of Life Scale.

BACKGROUND: The use of health-related quality-of-life scales has expanded into most areas of medicine. Established quality-of-life scales are used in several areas of neurosurgery, but none have been validated for use in patients with symptomatic Tarlov cysts. The majority of symptomatic Tarlov cysts are found in the sacral spinal canal of women. We, therefore, validated a site-specific quality-of-life measure for women with symptomatic sacral nerve root compression caused by Tarlov cysts. METHODS: Women undergoing surgical treatment for sacral Tarlov cysts at a single institution between 2017 and 2020 were enrolled in this prospective validation study. Participants were administered a 13-item version of the survey along with other validated quality-of-life measures preoperatively and at 3 months postoperatively. Psychometric analyses were performed to validate the measure. RESULTS: One hundred twelve patients met inclusion criteria and completed surveys preoperatively and at 3 months postoperatively. Patients' mean scale scores decreased significantly preoperatively to postoperatively, reflecting good discriminability (P < 0.001). Interitem correlations suggested 2 items were correlated at >0.80, which were dropped to create an 11-item scale. The internal consistency of the 11-item scale was 0.822. Concurrent validity was established by correlating scale scores with the Oswestry Disability Index (P < 0.001) and the physical function (P < 0.001) and pain (P < 0.001) subscales of the Short-Form 36 Survey. CONCLUSIONS: We prospectively validated a site-specific, health-related quality-of-life survey for women with symptomatic sacral Tarlov cysts. This measure will be useful in future studies to inform clinicians and researchers about the progression of Tarlov cysts and patient response to surgical treatment.

Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder Caused by Spinal Meningeal Cysts in the Sacrum: Successful Neurosurgical Treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether treatment of spinal meningeal cysts that compress sacral spinal nerve roots is associated with relief of persistent genital arousal disorder. METHODS: In this case series we encountered a group of patients with persistent genital arousal disorder among a larger cohort undergoing a prospective outcomes study on the surgical treatment of symptomatic spinal meningeal cysts. Epidemiologic data were collected and the type, number, and location of the meningeal cysts in each patient were determined on magnetic resonance imaging. Postoperatively patients were asked to self-report whether their persistent genital arousal disorder was eliminated, significantly better, the same, or worse. RESULTS: In a cohort of 1,045 patients with symptomatic spinal meningeal cysts, we identified 11 with persistent genital arousal disorder; all were female and all had meningeal cysts in the sacral spinal canal causing sacral nerve root compression. In addition to persistent genital arousal disorder, all patients had other symptoms typical of sacral nerve root compression such as perineal, bladder, and bowel symptoms. Although multiple types of meningeal cysts were encountered, Tarlov cysts were the most common (8/11). Postoperatively, seven (64%) patients reported elimination of their persistent genital arousal disorder, three (27%) noted significant improvement, one (9%) said they were unchanged, and none experienced worsening with an average follow-up of 23 months ranging from 2 months to 6 years. Although Tarlov cysts were more numerous, the presence of persistent genital arousal disorder and the surgical outcomes appeared unrelated to the type of spinal meningeal cyst treated. CONCLUSION: Our case series suggests that sacral nerve root compression caused by spinal meningeal cysts can cause persistent genital arousal disorder. The presence of nerve root compression appears to be more important than the particular type of meningeal cyst involved. Microsurgical cyst treatment cured or significantly reduced persistent genital arousal disorder symptoms in 91% of the patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

Association between symptomatic giant sacral meningeal diverticulum and spinal cord tethering with thickened lipomatous filum.

STUDY DESIGN: A review of cases where symptomatic sacral meningeal diverticula, as known as, sacral meningoceles, were treated. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there is an association between symptomatic sacral meningeal diverticulum and spinal cord tethering with a thickened fatty filum. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: In 2008, the primary author reported on the unusual case of a giant sacral meningeal diverticulum containing a tethering fatty filum. This led the author to be alert to the presence of spinal cord tethering in future cases involving symptomatic meningeal diverticula. Since the time of the initial report, 49 patients with meningeal diverticula have subsequently undergone surgical treatment and not infrequently spinal cord tethering was also found. The opportunity, therefore, presented itself to determine to what degree the two pathologies were associated. METHODS: We reviewed the intraoperative findings, preoperative imaging, and basic epidemiologic data from 50 consecutively treated patients with symptomatic sacral meningeal diverticula. RESULTS: Of the 50 patients, 14 (28%) were found to have associated spinal cord tethering with a thickened fatty filum. All 14 had a thickened fatty filum identifiable at surgery. Of these, 14 had evidence of spinal cord tethering on preoperative imaging studies, including 11 with the conus at the level of L2 or below, and 13 with a fatty filum seen on magnetic resonance images. CONCLUSION: The association between symptomatic sacral meningeal diverticula is more than incidental and is probably reflective of a common congenital etiology. Treatment of symptomatic meningeal diverticula should include a careful search for evidence of spinal cord tethering with a thickened fatty filum.

Giant sacral meningeal diverticulum containing a thickened filum with lipoma in an adult with spinal cord tethering. Case report and review of the literature.

An unusual case of a patient with a giant intrasacral meningeal diverticulum and spinal cord tethering with a thickened filum is presented. Instead of being empty as is typical, the meningeal diverticulum in this case contained a segment of the thickened tethering filum, which entered from the thecal sac through an ostium. A search of the literature revealed no prior description of a meningeal diverticulum containing a portion of tethered filum or any other structure. Only 2 previous cases of intrasacral meningeal cyst and spinal cord tethering with a thickened filum were found, both in the non-English literature.

Giant sacral meningeal diverticula: surgical implications of the "thecal tip" sign. Report of two cases.

The surgical anatomy of giant sacral meningeal diverticula varies greatly depending on whether they develop ventral or dorsal to the thecal sac and spinal nerve roots. The ability to distinguish between the two lesion types preoperatively is therefore advantageous. The authors present a method of distinguishing ventral from dorsal meningeal diverticula on magnetic resonance imaging using the "thecal tip sign." They also describe the differences in operative technique required for resection of each type of diverticular cyst.