Surgical Management of Symptomatic Tarlov Cyst: A Case Report

Abstract

We aim to present a case depicting the gradual onset of symptomatic sacral Tarlov cyst with complaints that include: low back pain, numbness, altered sensation, and inability to control bladder and bowel movements (incontinence). The patient under our care was treated by performing an operation that involved laminectomy and excision of the cyst. Tarlov cysts are perineural dilations that are fluid-filled nerve root cysts most commonly found in the sacral region of the spine adjacent to the dorsal root ganglion. Tarlov cyst was first described in medical literature in 1938 and the etiology of the disease is unknown. Tarlov cysts are extremely rare with an incidence of around 5% and were found incidentally in our patient on magnetic resonance imaging as a hyper-intense lesion at the level of S1-S2. Other imaging tools can be used to diagnose Tarlov cysts like CT, MRI, CT myelogram however the gold standard is MRI.