Nine patients (30.0%) had recurrence of the synovial cyst requiring repeat rupture and 6 patients (20.0%) required surgical intervention for cyst removal. More than 6 months of pain relief was achieved in 14/30 patients (46%) and between one and 6 months of pain relief was achieved in 7/30 patients (23.3%). Charts were reviewed to determine if surgery was eventually performed to correct radicular symptoms. Pain had been reported by the patients using a numeric rating scale of 0 - 10 (0 = no pain 10 = worst possible pain). In addition post-procedure pain assessments and duration of pain relief were obtained with telephone interviews. Pre- and post-procedure pain assessments were reviewed by clinical chart review.

Patients were followed up for a minimum of 6 months and up to 24 months. These patients were diagnosed with moderate to severe lower back pain, radiculopathy, and ranged in age from 42 to 80 years. The 30 patients in the cohort were treated by one pain specialist between 20. With approval from the Institutional Review Board of Case Western Reserve University/ MetroHealth Medical Center, we reviewed the medical charts of patients with lumbar radiculopathy who underwent percutaneous lumbar synovial cyst rupture. University hospital and urban public health care system. Retrospective evaluation of a case series.

The goal of this investigation was to assess the efficacy of fluoroscopically guided lumbar synovial cyst rupture, in particular for its relief of radicular symptoms and its potential to reduce the need for surgical intervention. Little information is available concerning the efficacy and outcome of percutaneous fluoroscopic synovial cyst rupture for treatment of facet joint synovial cysts. Surgery has been reported to successfully relieve radicular pain in 83.5% of patients by Zhenbo et al. Currently the only definitive treatment for these symptoms is surgery, which may involve laminectomy or laminotomy, with or without spinal fusion. These cysts can encroach on adjacent nerve roots, causing symptoms of radiculopathy. Lumbar synovial cysts can result from spondylosis of facet joints.

Synovial cyst on spine