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Syringomyelia

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Book cover Neurological Aspects of Spinal Cord Injury

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Abstract

Syringomyelia is not a disease in its own right but a manifestation of another disease process, which incorporates either an obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow in the spinal canal, tethering of the spinal cord, or an intramedullary tumor. Whenever a syrinx is demonstrated, clinical examination, analysis of the patient’s history, and neuroradiological imaging have to identify the underlying cause of the syrinx. If this cause can be identified and treated successfully, the syrinx will regress, and clinical symptoms will improve or remain stable in the future.

The significance of spinal arachnopathies for development and treatment of syringomyelia in patients without a craniospinal malformation, a spinal dysraphic malformation, or an intramedullary tumor is still not widely recognized. This chapter describes diagnostic and management algorithms for spinal arachnopathies leading to syringomyelia with a special emphasis on posttraumatic syringomyelia as well as long-term results for these patients.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Christliches Krankenhaus, Danziger Str. 2, 49610, Quakenbrück, Germany

    Jörg Klekamp

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  1. Jörg Klekamp
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Correspondence to Jörg Klekamp .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Spinal Cord Injury Center, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany

    Norbert Weidner

  2. Spinal Cord Injury Center, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany

    Rüdiger Rupp

  3. Methodist Rehabilitation Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi, USA

    Keith E. Tansey

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Klekamp, J. (2017). Syringomyelia. In: Weidner, N., Rupp, R., Tansey, K. (eds) Neurological Aspects of Spinal Cord Injury. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46293-6_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46293-6_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-46291-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-46293-6

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