Sacral intraspinal meningocele in a patient presenting with abdominal pain

Abstract

Sacral meningoceles are typically asymptomatic. When they are symptomatic, patients commonly present with signs and symptoms of nerve root compression and back pain. The authors report the case of a 10-year-old girl with an intraspinal sacral meningocele who presented initially only with severe right lower quadrant pain. The patient underwent successful surgical treatment of the meningocele and experienced subsequent resolution of the abdominal pain. This is the first reported case of an intraspinal sacral meningeal cyst in which the only presenting symptom was abdominal pain and which was successfully treated with surgery. It is postulated that the sacral meningocele caused severe abdominal pain secondary to compression of the sacral parasympathetic fibers that pass through the sacral plexus on each side of the cord corresponding to the S-2 and S-3 levels.