Fwd: Digest Number 2084 Clarification of tight filum terinale

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Just to clarify about Tight Filum Terminale surgery since I've had the

tethered cord surgery for this in order to help my low back pain and my Chiari.

Yes, if the filum is too tight it is believed that it can cause low lying

cerebellum tonsils. However, everyone has a filum terminale and it is something

that is needed to anchor the end of the spinal cord down to the coccyx (base of

spine), and is generally completely normal. That being said, in a person whose

filum terminale is too tight (an exception to the rule), it has been found that

the filum has become non-elastic and more fibrous (I had this), and it can

sometimes have a lipoma (fatty non-cancerous tissue -- I did not have this) that

grows on/in the filum, or tortuous veins (I also had this) attached to it. When

they cut the filum and clear up scar tissue (also known as arachnoid adhesions

(had this as well), a lot of times the end of the spinal cord bounces up to a

more normal position of L1-L2, and this " bouncing up " helps a lot of Chiari 1

patients. The surgery has helped me with some pain issues. It helped for a few

months with the shocks going down my spine, however, the shocks are back now. Oh

well!

Take care,

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