Silent post-traumatic syringomyelia and syringobulbia

Post-traumatic syringomyelia (PTS) is when a cavity grows in the spinal cord after a vertebral lesion, sometimes without a direct injury to the cord itself. This can lead to various neurological issues. The cavity can extend into the brainstem, causing syringobulbia, which affects cranial nerves and the reticular substance. The symptoms depend on the location and size of the cavity. This case report presents a woman with a large syrinx extending from her thoracic spine into her brainstem who, surprisingly, had minimal symptoms directly attributable to the syrinx itself.

• 1
  A large syrinx and syringobulbia can be present without causing significant neurological deficits, as demonstrated in the presented case.
• 2
  The patient had a T6 vertebral fracture with spinal cord injury (SCI) in 1996, resulting in AIS A T7 paraplegia, and the syrinx was discovered incidentally during an MRI for unrelated neck and shoulder pain.
• 3
  The lack of surgical treatment after the initial injury, leading to kyphosis and spinal cord compression, might be related to the development of the cavity, but this remains a debated topic.