Diagnosis and surgical management of intraspinal hemorrhagic juxtafacet cysts in lumbar spine: Experience of eight cases

Hemorrhagic juxtafacet synovial cysts have rarely been reported in the literature. We reviewed case records of eight patients with hemorrhagic juxtafacet cysts treated surgically. Back pain and acute radicular pain were the presenting features in the all patients. The possible cause for hemorrhage could be indentified in only three patients. Six patients had medial facetectomy and hemilaminectom and two patients with stenosis had medial facetectomy and laminectomy. Following surgery there was immediate relief from pain with significant improvement of the Oswestry disability index (ODI). Six patients had an excellent outcome while the remaing two patients had a good outcome. During the follow-up there was no progression of slippage, no segment instability, and no recurrence. Hemilaminectomy or laminectomy with medial facetectomy without fusion might serve as an effective and safe management strategy to treat lumbar hemorrhagic juxtrafacet synovial cysts.