Hi everybody, I just read a discussion about a thoracic syrinx and it raised a question: can one have a thoracic syrinx if they do not have a cervical syrinx ? One of the NS I saw told me no, but know I’m wondering…
True, my daughter has several throughout the length of her spine and they are not connected.
Just for clarification, a syrinx is a fluid filled cavity within the spinal cord. In the case of Chiari patients, we believe they grow due to obstruction of outflow from the obex(the outflow of the 4th ventricle) into the spinal canal(essentially by the Chiari acting like a cork), forcing CSF into the central canal, a potential space in the middle of the spinal cord(embryologically, the spinal cord begins as a flat series of cells before it rounds out, leaving a space that can fill with fluid in the middle). It's why you'll sometimes hear talk of a dilated central canal vs a syrinx(really just a size discussion).
The syrinx may become larger anywhere along the spinal cord. The MRI may show discontinuous syrinxes but, on autopsy, most/all will be in communication, at least at a microscopic level. You can have a "trapped" syrinx but a Chiari decompression to treat a syrinx relies on communcation through the central canal so that treatment at the top(the Chiari) will affect the full length of the syrinx. Because the inflow of fluid is from the top, the cervical spine is the most common location of a syrinx due to a Chiari, but not the only or even a necessary location.
I hope that clarifies a little.
Thanks for raising this question, jcdemar. I've been wondering about this too. The t-spine is the only part of my spine/brain that hasn't been imaged. I don't have a syrinx in any other part of the spine though. Razzle, what kind of symptoms arise from your thoracic syrinx?
Thank you.