Unusual presentation of intradural endodermal cysts in young children under 2 years of age. Report of two cases.

INTRODUCTION: Spinal endodermal cysts are congenital maldevelopmental lesions usually presenting in early adulthood. Whereas the diagnosis is rare in newborns and it is usually led by cardiopulmonary distress or other associated malformations, no characteristic clinical findings associated with these entities have been described in older patients where spinal endodermal cysts usually behave as intraspinal space occupying lesions. DISCUSSION: The authors report on two children under 2 years of age affected by cervical endodermal cysts that presented with a history of acute motor deficit following a laryngitis. The hypothesis about the pathogenesis is that the upper respiratory tract infection might have stimulated the secretion of the cyst lining, inducing growth of the cyst and the sudden appearance of the motor deficit. Because of the apparent lack of relation between the benign laryngitis and the motor deficit, the occurrence of such an association might have been underestimated in some of the previously reported cases.