External syringomyelia in longstanding benign foramen magnum tumors

BACKGROUND: The effect of benign foramen magnum tumours on cranial and spinal dimensions and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spaces is unclear. In this study, we measured alterations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spaces in the spinal canal and in the posterior cranial fossa distant from the site of benign foramen magnum tumors. METHODS: Twenty-nine magnetic resonance imaging scans of patients with foramen magnum tumors (8 meningiomas and 21 C2 neurinomas) were identified for radiological morphometric analysis and compared with normal control scans. The anterior-posterior distance between the pontomedullary junction and the clivus, the spinal canal diameter, spinal cord diameter, and cord-canal ratios were measured at the C6 and T2 levels. RESULTS: The mean spinal canal diameter was significantly higher in tumor scans at both the C6 and T2 spinal levels than in controls (13.8 mm vs. 11.4 mm at C6; p<0.0001, and 12.9 mm vs. 11.9 mm at T2; P=0.01). Further, the mean cord:canal ratio was significantly lower in tumor scans at both levels (0.49 vs. 0.64 at C6; P<0.0001, and 0.45 vs. 0.54 at T2; P=0.0009). There was no significant difference in mean anteroposterior distance from the clivus to the pontomedullary junction (10.4 mm vs. 10.3 mm; P=0.91). CONCLUSION: In the presence of benign foramen magnum tumors, the spinal canal diameter and CSF volume in the spinal canal increased at the C6 and T2 levels, distant from the tumor site, a phenomenon we describe as “external syringomyelia”.