A rare case of recurrence of primary spinal neurocysticercosis mimicking an arachnoid cyst

Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a common parasitic infection of the central nervous system but isolated primary spinal NCC is of very rare occurrence. The authors report a case of 44-year-old male, a postoperative case of multiple spinal NCC lesion excision 2 years ago, who presented with cauda equina syndrome and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a lesion mimicking an arachnoid cyst in the D1-9 region of the spinal cord. On intraoperative surgical exposure multiple cysts were found and excised. The suspicion of recurrence of NCC was confirmed by histopathology. Postoperatively there was significant improvement in neurological symptoms of the patient. Recurrence of primary spinal NCC should be considered in differential diagnosis of an arachnoid cyst if there is a definitive past history.