Treatment of ventral neurenteric cyst at the cervicothoracic junction with the anterior approach in a pediatric patient: illustrative case.

BACKGROUND: Neurenteric cysts are rare congenital lesions from heterotopic endodermal tissue, often presenting with radiculopathy or myelopathy in young adults. Gross-total resection is curative; however, the surgical approach remains widely debated for cervicothoracic cases. While the posterior approach is common, the anterior approach has had success in adults. The authors present the first pediatric case of anterior corpectomy with gross-total resection of a cervicothoracic neurenteric cyst alongside an extensive literature review.

OBSERVATIONS: A 10-year-old male, who had undergone a previous cyst resection via a posterior approach at an outside institution, presented with back pain, paraplegia, and urinary incontinence. Magnetic resonance imaging of the spine revealed a ventral hyperintense cyst at C7-T1 consistent with a neurenteric cyst. An anterior approach involving C7 and T1 corpectomies was performed, including intradural exploration leading to complete cyst resection. This was followed by the placement of an expandable cage and anterior and posterior fixation with arthrodesis for stabilization. The patient's symptoms completely resolved after surgery, and there has been no recurrence.

LESSONS: The anterior approach is a viable option for cervicothoracic neurenteric cyst resection in the pediatric population and can aid in gross-total resection by providing better lesion visualization. More studies are needed on long-term outcomes of the anterior approach in pediatric populations. https://thejns.org/doi/10.3171/CASE24120.