Posterior fossa decompression without duraplasty in infants and young children for treatment of Chiari malformation and achondroplasia. 1996

K D Yundt, and T S Park, and V S Tantuwaya, and B A Kaufman
Department of Neurosurgery, St. Louis Children's Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine, Mo., USA.

Some children with Chiari malformation and achondroplasia require posterior fossa decompression that typically includes expansion of the dural tube with duraplasty. Infants and young children, however, may have a more distensible dura mater than do older patients. Furthermore, the structures that compress the hindbrain of young patients may be the bone and abnormally thickened atlantooccipital membrane, i.e., dural band, rather than the dura mater. We have treated 7 children who had Chiari malformation or achondroplasia with posterior fossa decompression without duraplasty. All children were symptomatic; 3 had Chiari-I malformations, 2 Chiari-II malformations, and 2 achondroplasia. The age range was 3 months to 2.5 years (mean 15.1 months). The exent of tonsillar herniation and other hindbrain anomalies was assessed on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging. The infants with Chiari-II malformations underwent cervical laminectomies, whereas the other young children with Chiari-I malformations or achondroplasia underwent suboccipital craniectomy as well as cervical laminectomy. In Chiari malformation, the dural band was divided; in achondroplasia, there was no identifiable dural band. Following bony decompression and division of the identifiable dural band, immediate expansion of the stenotic region with visible cerebrospinal fluid space posterior to the neural elements could be ascertained by intraoperative ultrasonography. During a follow-up period ranging from 4.5 months to 4 years (mean 22 months), all patients made improvements in their symptoms, 3 having complete resolution of their symptoms. This preliminary experience indicates that in children 2 years of age or younger, posterior fossa bony decompression without duraplasty can be effective treatment for Chiari malformations or achondroplasia.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007223 Infant A child between 1 and 23 months of age. Infants
D007796 Laminectomy A surgical procedure that entails removing all (laminectomy) or part (laminotomy) of selected vertebral lamina to relieve pressure on the SPINAL CORD and/or SPINAL NERVE ROOTS. Vertebral lamina is the thin flattened posterior wall of vertebral arch that forms the vertebral foramen through which pass the spinal cord and nerve roots. Laminotomy,Laminectomies,Laminotomies
D008279 Magnetic Resonance Imaging Non-invasive method of demonstrating internal anatomy based on the principle that atomic nuclei in a strong magnetic field absorb pulses of radiofrequency energy and emit them as radiowaves which can be reconstructed into computerized images. The concept includes proton spin tomographic techniques. Chemical Shift Imaging,MR Tomography,MRI Scans,MRI, Functional,Magnetic Resonance Image,Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Functional,Magnetization Transfer Contrast Imaging,NMR Imaging,NMR Tomography,Tomography, NMR,Tomography, Proton Spin,fMRI,Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging,Imaging, Chemical Shift,Proton Spin Tomography,Spin Echo Imaging,Steady-State Free Precession MRI,Tomography, MR,Zeugmatography,Chemical Shift Imagings,Echo Imaging, Spin,Echo Imagings, Spin,Functional MRI,Functional MRIs,Image, Magnetic Resonance,Imaging, Magnetic Resonance,Imaging, NMR,Imaging, Spin Echo,Imagings, Chemical Shift,Imagings, Spin Echo,MRI Scan,MRIs, Functional,Magnetic Resonance Images,Resonance Image, Magnetic,Scan, MRI,Scans, MRI,Shift Imaging, Chemical,Shift Imagings, Chemical,Spin Echo Imagings,Steady State Free Precession MRI
D008297 Male Males
D002574 Cervical Vertebrae The first seven VERTEBRAE of the SPINAL COLUMN, which correspond to the VERTEBRAE of the NECK. Cervical Spine,Cervical Spines,Spine, Cervical,Vertebrae, Cervical
D002675 Child, Preschool A child between the ages of 2 and 5. Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D003388 Cranial Fossa, Posterior The infratentorial compartment that contains the CEREBELLUM and BRAIN STEM. It is formed by the posterior third of the superior surface of the body of the sphenoid (SPHENOID BONE), by the occipital, the petrous, and mastoid portions of the TEMPORAL BONE, and the posterior inferior angle of the PARIETAL BONE. Clivus,Cranial Fossas, Posterior,Fossa, Posterior Cranial,Fossas, Posterior Cranial,Posterior Cranial Fossa,Posterior Cranial Fossas
D003399 Craniotomy Surgical incision into the cranium. Craniectomy,Craniectomies,Craniotomies
D004388 Dura Mater The outermost of the three MENINGES, a fibrous membrane of connective tissue that covers the brain and the spinal cord. Falx Cerebelli,Falx Cerebri,Pachymeninx,Tentorium Cerebelli
D004677 Encephalocele Brain tissue herniation through a congenital or acquired defect in the skull. The majority of congenital encephaloceles occur in the occipital or frontal regions. Clinical features include a protuberant mass that may be pulsatile. The quantity and location of protruding neural tissue determines the type and degree of neurologic deficit. Visual defects, psychomotor developmental delay, and persistent motor deficits frequently occur. Frontal Encephalocele,Hernia, Cerebral,Occipital Encephalocele,Acquired Encephalocele,Bifid Cranium,Cephalocele,Cerebellar Hernia,Cerebellar Herniation,Cranial Meningoencephalocele,Craniocele,Cranium Bifidum,Encephalocele, Acquired,Encephalocele, Frontal,Encephalocele, Occipital,Encephalocele, Sincipital,Notoencephalocele,Sincipital Encephalocele,Tonsillar Hernia,Tonsillar Herniation,Acquired Encephaloceles,Bifid Craniums,Bifidum, Cranium,Bifidums, Cranium,Cephaloceles,Cerebellar Hernias,Cerebellar Herniations,Cerebral Hernia,Cerebral Hernias,Cranial Meningoencephaloceles,Cranioceles,Cranium Bifidums,Cranium, Bifid,Craniums, Bifid,Encephaloceles,Encephaloceles, Acquired,Encephaloceles, Frontal,Encephaloceles, Occipital,Encephaloceles, Sincipital,Frontal Encephaloceles,Hernia, Cerebellar,Hernia, Tonsillar,Hernias, Cerebellar,Hernias, Cerebral,Hernias, Tonsillar,Herniation, Cerebellar,Herniation, Tonsillar,Herniations, Cerebellar,Herniations, Tonsillar,Meningoencephalocele, Cranial,Meningoencephaloceles, Cranial,Notoencephaloceles,Occipital Encephaloceles,Sincipital Encephaloceles,Tonsillar Hernias,Tonsillar Herniations

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