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Lumbar facet synovial cyst

Q1: What is a lumbar facet synovialcyst?
Lumbar facet synovial cyst was first described in 1968 by Kao et al.¹ It is now being commonly reported with advanced neuroimaging techniques. It can pose serious diagnostic and therapeutic problems. The aetiology of this condition is degenerative including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and spondylolisthesis. It is commonly located at L4/5 in the most mobile part of the spine and is uncommon in cervical and thoracic regions. Repeated microtrauma is blamed for its aetiopathogenesis. It is related to the degenerative facet joint. It might be a very common cause of refractory low back pain with radicular pain; it is very rarely bilateral. It can present, although very rarely, acutely as an emergency and there have been reports of cervical cord compression and cauda equina syndrome after a bleed into this cyst. Elderly patients with low back pain and radiation with a leading symptom of aggravation of pain on standing and . . . [Full text of this article]

Relevant Article

Lumbar facet synovial cyst

N V Deshmukh and P Kanse
Postgrad. Med. J. 2003 79: 419. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]