Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Mudgal P, Weerakkody Y, Bell D, et al. Pseudomeningocele. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 31 May 2023) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-31521
Pseudomeningoceles are abnormal collections of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that occur due to leakage from the CSF-filled spaces surrounding the brain and/or spinal cord as a result of trauma or surgery.
Spinal pseudomeningoceles can occur in <2% of patients following laminectomy or discectomy 4.
The salient feature of a pseudomeningocele is that it contains CSF that communicates with the CSF surrounding the brain or spinal cord and it is not lined by dura.
In brachial plexus injury, the key feature is that the nerve root avulsion pseudomeningocele does not contain any neural elements.
Specific types
CT
Typically appears as a hypoattenuating collection that extends to the dura with minimal peripheral enhancement and with similar attenuation to CSF elsewhere.
MRI
The pseudomeningocele follows CSF signal on all sequences.
ADVERTISEMENT: Supporters see fewer/no ads
- 1. Mehendale NH, Samy RN, Roland PS. Management of pseudomeningocele following neurotologic procedures. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2004;131 (3): 253-62. doi:10.1016/j.otohns.2004.01.018 - Pubmed citation
- 2. Abdulhak M, Marzouk S. Challenging Cases in Spine Surgery. Thieme. (2011) ISBN:1604064897. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 3. Radcliff K, Morrison WB, Kepler C, Moore J, Sidhu GS, Gendelberg D, Miller L, Sonagli MA, Vaccaro AR. Distinguishing Pseudomeningocele, Epidural Hematoma, and Postoperative Infection on Postoperative MRI. (2016) Clinical spine surgery. 29 (9): E471-E474. doi:10.1097/BSD.0b013e31828f9203 - Pubmed
- 4. Nevil Ghodasara, Paul H. Yi, Karen Clark, Elliot K. Fishman, Mazda Farshad, Jan Fritz. Postoperative Spinal CT: What the Radiologist Needs to Know. (2019) RadioGraphics. doi:10.1148/rg.2019190050
Promoted articles (advertising)
Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.