Periarticular cysts of the cervical spine

Abstract

Periarticular cysts of the facet joints are relatively rare and occur predominantly (95%) in the lumbar spine, the effectiveness of their surgical treatment requires further study.Objective: to give a detailed description of a case series of patients with periarticular cysts of the cervical spine.Material and methods. During 10 years (from 2012 to 2022) 8 patients with periarticular cysts of the cervical spine were treated in the neurosurgical department of the Clinic of Nervous System Diseases of Sechenov University. All patients underwent decompressive surgery. The severity of the pain syndrome was assessed by the visual analogue scale (VAS) of pain, the degree of disability – by the disability index (DI) due to neck pain.Results. After surgical treatment, the pain syndrome decreased from 7.25±1.28 to 2.13±1.12 points according to VAS (p<0.01), disability according to DI decreased from 51.5±8.08 to 21.25± 4.5 points (p<0.01), all patients achieved a significant (50% or more) reduction in pain. None of the patients had complications during surgical treatment.Conclusion. Microsurgical removal of periarticular cysts at the cervical level can significantly reduce pain and disability.