Can syringomyelia be treated in advanced stages? Will there be sequelae?

Syringomyelia currently has no definite drug** means and mainly relies on surgery**. For those with a definite ** cause, surgery for ** may be considered. In addition, the current mainstream surgical methods are syringomyelia shunt and posterior fossa decompression, and posterior fossa decompression is used for patients with definite cerebellar tonsillar herniation and the corresponding stage of syringomyelia.

If there is no identification of Chiari tonsillar herniation or if the degree of Chiari tonsillar herniation does not match the degree of syringomyelia, syringomyelia shunt may be considered. For patients with cavities formed by compression in front of the atlanto-occipital junction, anterior decompression can be considered to remove pathological deformed bones, such as the atlas vertebrae, anterior arch, lower part of the slope, and dentate process.

Syringomyelia is not complicated from the operation itself, but it has many surgical methods, because it is formed for different reasons, for example, there is a disease that is accompanied by cerebellar tonsillar herniation malformation, which causes syringomyelia We must also expand the capacity of the posterior fossa to achieve the goal. Some may be caused by tumors, and we need to cut out the tumor in the spinal cord so that it can improve its dilated cavities. There are also caused by inflammation or trauma and other reasons, according to the specific different conditions and different manifestations, such as spinal cord incision and drainage or shunt, these methods can be carried out**, mainly depending on the cause of your cord and the location of the syrinx.

Cervical syringomyelia is most commonly caused by cerebellar tonsillar herniation, and the preferred method is posterior fossa decompression. Depending on the patient's specific situation, a larger range of posterior fossa decompression alone or a smaller range of foramen magnum decompression and rigid mold enlargement plasty should be chosen. Recommendations:

Patients should pay more attention to prevent colds and infections. Exercise properly and avoid strenuous exercise. Never avoid watching TV for long periods of time.

At present, the most effective method of syringomyelia in China is targeted repair, so that the syringomyeli will not develop, and at the same time improve the growth microenvironment of spinal cord nerve cells, which plays a protective role in spinal cord nerve cells.

Patients with syringomyelia are mostly bedridden for a long time due to motor dysfunction and muscle weakness in the advanced stage, and are prone to pneumonia, bedsores, etc., and some patients have bulbar paralysis symptoms, difficulty swallowing, choking on drinking water, coughing and sputum weakness, which can easily lead to aspiration pneumonia and even suffocation. Li Wei, Department of Spine Neurosurgery, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University.

Patients with syringomyelia are mostly bedridden for a long time due to motor dysfunction and muscle weakness in the advanced stage, and are prone to pneumonia, bedsores, etc., and some patients have bulbar paralysis symptoms, difficulty swallowing, choking on drinking water, coughing and sputum weakness, which can easily lead to aspiration pneumonia and even suffocation. Professor Li Weixin, Department of Spine Neurosurgery, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, pointed out that when a patient's syringomyelia develops to an advanced stage, in addition to the specialist's **, home care is also crucial. So, how to care for patients with advanced syringomyelia?

Professor Li Weixin introduced the following: 1. Pay attention to the prevention of colds and lung infections due to low autoimmune function, once the cold is cold, the condition will be aggravated, the course of the disease will be prolonged, and muscle weakness will be aggravated. In particular, patients with bulbar palsy are prone to pulmonary infection, and if not prevented and treated in time, there will be poor recovery and even life-threatening.

Gastroenteritis caused by a cold can also lead to intestinal flora dysfunction, which can lead to recurrence or exacerbation of the condition. 2. Maintain an optimistic and happy mood Long-term or repeated intense mental tension, anxiety, irritability, pessimism and other emotions will lead to the imbalance of the excitatory and inhibitory processes of the cerebral cortex, resulting in the aggravation of the condition of syringomyelia patients. It should be pointed out that confidence is the key and foundation.

3. Reasonable diet to maintain normal digestive function Patients with advanced syringomyelia who have low digestive function should mainly eat semi-liquid and liquid diets with high protein, high nutrition and energy, and adopt small and frequent meals to maintain the balance of nutrition and water and electrolytes. Patients who need nasogastric feeding should keep in touch with professionals and calculate the amount of food they eat and total energy. 4. Combination of work and rest and reasonable functional exercise Patients with advanced syringomyelia should not forcibly carry out functional exercise to avoid physical fatigue and which is not conducive to functional recovery.

Reasonable training should be carried out under the guidance of a professional physician to ensure survival for as long as possible.

Clause. 1. Is syringomyelia serious? Relatively speaking, it's serious.

Because this disease is extremely harmful, if it is not treated in a timely and effective manner, it will cause various complications. For example, the spinal cord may be damaged in one or both segments of the tactile impairment, and severe patients may also have lower motor neuron paralysis.

Clause. 2. Spinal cord injury can also lead to discomfort in the lower limbs, the most common of which is pyramidal tract signs in the lower limbs. In addition to this aspect, this disease will also lead to sensory impairment in patients, mainly manifested as segmental dissociative sensory disorder innervated by the spinal cord at the cavitary site, and there is also a lower fascicle sensory disorder, no matter which one will have a great impact on the patient's health, only by doing a good job in a timely and effective manner, can this impact be eliminated and their own health can be guaranteed.

Clause. 3. The biggest harm of syringomyelia is sensory impairment, which is mainly manifested by the absence of pain after the patient's arm is burned, cut or punctured. As long as this abnormal feature appears, it is necessary to pay special attention, it is likely that the disease is aggravated, and it is necessary to do a good job in time to avoid greater disease damage.

Clause. 4. Tract consciousness disorder is also one of the typical hazards of syringomyelia, especially when the cavitation expands and damages one or both spinothalamic tracts, it will lead to fascicle disorder in patients, which seriously affects their normal life. In order to effectively eliminate this harm, it is necessary to do a good job in the treatment of diseases and protect personal health.

1. Sensory hazards: According to the cavity located in the cervical segment and upper thoracic segment of the spinal cord, biased to one side or located in **, there is a segmental sensory disorder of unilateral upper limb and upper thoracic segment, which is often characterized by segmental dissociative sensory disorder. Pain and temperature sensation decrease or disappear, and deep sensation is present.

The symptom may also be bilateral.

2. With the development of the lesion, it can gradually affect the upper arm, shoulder girdle and some intercostal muscles, causing paralysis. Lumbosacral cavitation is manifested by muscle atrophy of the lower limbs and feet. Upper motor neuron paralysis.

3. Exercise hazards: cervical and thoracic cavities affect the anterior horn of the spinal cord, and symptoms of flaccid partial paralysis of one or both upper limbs appear. It is manifested as muscle weakness and decreased muscle tone, especially the thenar muscle and interosseous muscle atrophy of both hands, and in severe cases, claw hand deformity.

4. Symptoms of autonomic nerve dysfunction: the patient's autonomic dysfunction is often more obvious, due to the lesion affecting the lateral corner, common upper limb trophic disorders, ** thickening, burn scars or intractable ulcers, cyanosis and coolness, excessive or little sweating.

The purpose of syringomyelia is not only to control the progression of the disease and the pain, but more importantly, to enable the patient to live and grow physically and mentally healthy, and to establish confidence in overcoming the disease.

First of all, it is necessary to have a scientific understanding of the disease. Patients with syringomyelia should consult a doctor or specialist institution with many cases of experience, and understand the occurrence, development, pathogenesis, staging and grading of syringomyelia, the current method, and the precautions for maintenance. Basic knowledge related to syringomyelia, etc., to dispel misconceptions and fears about the disease.

It should be known that syringomyelia is not like what everyone calls an "incurable disease", and it can be even done through early scientific understanding and effective intervention.

Secondly, treat the condition correctly, properly integrate into the society, in daily life, you can collect information about health care by yourself, do scientific work and rest, diet rules, and avoid bad living habits, if there are patients who think that they have chronic diseases, they will be sick and recuperate, and they are bedridden or bedridden for a long time and are unwilling to move, which is very unfavorable to the disease. The repair of diseased tissues must rely on the replenishment of nutrients, and the nutrition of tissues is more than blood, only when the blood supply is sufficient and the nutrients are abundant, the diseased tissues can be repaired quickly. Moderate activity can speed up blood circulation, promote metabolism, and help accelerate the recovery of diseased tissues.

Third, adjust the bad mentality and overcome pessimism and depression. Some patients do not have a scientific understanding of the disease, the brain thinking is very "active", often cranky, because the brain tissue is too "active", consumes a lot of glucose, amino acids, oxygen, lecithin and other energy substances, coupled with the patient's less activity, poor appetite, insufficient nutrition, in the long run, it will cause brain function decline and memory reduction. Coupled with the heavy burden of thought and mental pressure, it is difficult to worry about the disease all day long, which is not conducive to the early stage of the disease.

Based on more than 50 years of clinical experience, the famous Chinese medicine experts have learned from the experience of their ancestors in treating diseases for generations, combined with the current medical theory and decades of clinical practice experience, and have worked hard to develop a highly effective special prescription for syringomyelia - cavitary ** decoction.

Syringomyelia is a slowly progressive degenerative lesion of the spinal cord, which is caused by congenital or acquired pathogenic causes that enlarge the spinal canal or form a tubular cavity, and its surrounding glia proliferates, which in turn causes nerve damage to the affected spinal cord segments. Patients generally suffer from dissociative impairment and paralysis of lower motor neuron related muscle groups due to decreased and absent pain and temperature sensation, as well as dyskinesia and neurotrophic disorders with long tract damage to the spinal cord. The severity of the symptoms of syringomyelia has a great deal to do with the course of the disease, with symptoms being localized and mild in the early stages and progressing to difficulty in moving in the late stages.

Syringomyelia is a chronic, progressive condition of the spinal cord. **It is not well understood, but the lesion is characterized by the formation of a tubular cavity in the spinal cord (mainly gray matter) and hyperplasia of glia (non-nerve cells). It usually occurs in the cervical spinal cord.

When the lesion involves the medulla oblongata, it is called syringomyelia.

The diagnosis is generally not difficult, and the diagnosis can be determined according to the onset of adulthood, the dissociative disorder of segmental distribution, and the disorders of movement and nutrition. Sometimes it is necessary to distinguish it from cervical spondylosis, spinal cord tumors, motor neuron disease, leprosy, etc.

There are no special effects yet**. Radiation to the site of spinal cord lesions** is often used, but the efficacy is uncertain. Affected joints and muscles should be physically** taken to prevent joint deformity. Attention should be paid to preventing lung and urinary tract infections.

Syringomyelia** mainly relies on surgery, and the common methods are posterior fossa decompression and syringomyelia drainage, the main purpose of which is to remove the fluid in the cavity and reduce the compression of the spinal cord, thereby relieving symptoms and delaying the further progression of the disease. Some patients can also use radiation**, but the overall ** results are mostly unsatisfactory.

Harm. 1. The effects of syringomyelia on the body:

Effect of syringomyelia on sensation: the sense of pain and temperature is lost due to the interruption of spinothalamic fibers, and because the posterior column is not affected in the early stage, the sense of light touch, tremor and position is relatively preserved, which is a characteristic of this disease and is called segmental dissociative sensory disorder. There may be deep pain affecting the shoulders and arms.

When the posterior cord is involved, a corresponding deep sensory deficit occurs.

2. Nutritional disorders caused by syringomyelia:

Due to the dystrophy of the articular cartilage and bone and the imbalance of the feedback mechanism generated by the sensory impairment, the charcot joint is manifested as joint swelling, effusion, over-limit activity, and a feeling of activity bounce. X-rays show destruction and fragmentation of the osteochondral at the end of the articular bones, and subluxation may be present. **There may be excessive sweating, no sweating, color change, hyperkeratosis, rough nails, brittleness, etc.

Sometimes ** sores develop. Scoliosis or posterior protrusion of the thoracic spine is common. Bladder and rectal sphincter dysfunction is more common in advanced stages.

The lesion spreads to the medulla oblongata, causing dysphagia, tongue muscle atrophy and paralysis, and nystagmus, which is easily life-threatening. CSF is usually normal, and the Queckenstedt test is rarely obstructive.

3. The effect of syringomyelia on exercise

The extension of the lesion to the anterior horn cells causes destruction of motor neurons, corresponding muscle paralysis, atrophy, hypotonia, muscle fiber tremors, and loss of reflexes. The intrinsic muscles of the hand are usually the first to be affected, ascending to the forearm, upper arm, and shoulder girdle. Severe muscle involvement of the hand may lead to claw-shaped hand deformities.

Lesions involve lateral cords, and the lower extremities may have symmetrical or asymmetric spastic paresis, hyperreflexia, and metatarsal retroextension. Horner's sign may occur in the late stage, which is caused by injury to the sympathetic neurons in the lateral column.

Common symptoms include sensory impairment, muscle atrophy, and focal trophic disorders. The disease should be treated in a timely manner without delay.

Pathological changes of syringomyelia: cavities are mostly limited to the cervical spinal cord, which can extend the full length of the spinal cord, with different cross-sectional areas at different segments, and the cervical spinal cord and cervical swelling reach the maximum. Pay attention to the protection of hands and feet, wear gloves when working or working, and wrap them in gloves, thick cotton cloth or blankets when holding hot cups, pots, and metal spoons.