Ganglion cyst of a lumbar facet joint in an adolescent—a case report

Abstract

‘Lumbar facet joint synovial cyst’ is the recent terminology used to describe cysts within and outside the lumbar spinal canal. These include ganglion cysts, synovial cysts and cysts arising from the ligamentum flavum. Ganglion or synovial cysts typically arise from the joints and tendon sheaths of the appendicular skeleton but are uncommon in the spinal facet joints and rare in an adolescent. This case report illustrates a 14-year-old female patient of the senior author (JHP) with lumbar facet joint cyst who presented with lower back pain. Excisional biopsy was performed and the histology confirmed the diagnosis of a ganglion cyst.