Percutaneous Therapy for Symptomatic Synovial Cysts

Synovial cysts have long been known to create radicular pain in the spine, with the clinical effect mimicking a disk herniation. These cysts have traditionally been treated with open surgical therapy. Now a minimally invasive, image-guided approach to treatment is available to relieve this problem, using a simple percutaneous needle stick and injection. This article describes the technical aspects and precautions needed for this intervention.

Keywords: Synovial cyst, Synovial cyst rupture, Spine pain, Epidural cyst

a Centers for Advanced Imaging, Roanoke, VA 24014, USA

b Department of Radiology, Winthrop-University Hospital, 259 First Street, Mineola, NY 11501, USA

c Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY, USA

Corresponding author.

Disclosures: Industry/Government connections: Consultant, FDA-Orthopedics and Rehab Division (Washington, DC), Orthovita (Malvern, PA), Biomimetics (Nashville, TN), Crosstrees Medical (Denver, CO) (J.M.M.). Speakers Bureau, Medtronic Spine (Memphis, TN), Consultant, SpineWave Inc (Shelton, CT) (O.O.).

PII: S1052-5149(10)00006-7

doi:10.1016/j.nic.2010.02.005

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