CLINICAL AND SURGICAL FEATURES IN 40 PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY CEREBELLAR ECTOPIA (ADULT CHIARI MALFORMATION)

Abstract

A review of the clinical and surgical findings of 40 patients showed that pain of varying type was the most common symptom; 4 main clinical groups could be recognized, syringomyelia, paraparesis, cerebellar syndrome and raised pressure syndrome; and surgical decompression of the posterior fossa and upper cervical spine resulted in improvement in over 70% of patients with a small incidence of post-operative complications. Primary cerebellar ectopia is not uncommon and is an important syndrome in its own right. It is often not accompanied by syringomyelia and in these patients the diagnosis can be difficult without supine myelography.