Summary
This is the first published report of a patient with Klippel-Feil syndrome treated with cervical arthroplasty. A 36-year-old man presented with posterior neck pain and myelopathic symptoms. A radiograph demonstrated congenital fusion of the vertebral bodies at C2–3, C4–5 and C5–6. On MRI, the spinal cord was compressed by a protruding cervical disc and bony spurs at C6–7. After anterior discectomy and decompression of the spinal cord at the C6–7 level, the disc was replaced with the Bryan cervical disc system (Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Memphis, TN, USA) to restore normal motion. The absence of adjacent segment degeneration and the preservation of cervical motion were noted 2 years after surgery. Arthroplasty may be performed in selected patients with Klippel-Feil syndrome in order to restore motion and to prevent degeneration of the adjacent segment by reducing hypermobility.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
H Baba Y Maezawa N Furusawa Q Chen S Imura K Tomita (1995) ArticleTitleThe cervical spine in the Klippel-Feil syndrome. A report of 57 cases Int Orthop 19 204–208 Occurrence Handle8557413 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00185222 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DyaK28%2FosFyqtg%3D%3D
AD Elster (1984) ArticleTitleQuadriplegia after minor trauma in the Klippel-Feil syndrome. A case report and review of the literature J Bone Joint Surg Am 66 1473–1474 Occurrence Handle6501345 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DyaL2M%2FlsFShug%3D%3D
RN Hensinger JE Lang GD MacEwen (1974) ArticleTitleKlippel-Feil syndrome; a constellation of associated anomalies J Bone Joint Surg Am 56 1246–1253 Occurrence Handle4436358 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DyaE2M%2FmtVGjug%3D%3D
B Jeanneret F Magerl (1990) ArticleTitleCongenital fusion C1-C2 associated with spondylolysis of C2 J Spinal Disord 3 413–417 Occurrence Handle2134459 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DyaK387pvFKgsw%3D%3D
D Karasick ME Schweitzer AR Vaccaro (1998) ArticleTitleThe traumatized cervical spine in Klippel-Feil syndrome: imaging features AJR Am J Roentgenol 170 85–88 Occurrence Handle9423605 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DyaK1c%2FosFKlsQ%3D%3D
H Nagashima Y Morio R Teshima (2001) ArticleTitleNo neurological involvement for more than 40 years in Klippel-Feil syndrome with severe hypermobility of the upper cervical spine Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 121 99–101 Occurrence Handle11195133 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s004020000164 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DC%2BD3M7ks1ygtQ%3D%3D
MG Nagib RE Maxwell SN Chou (1985) ArticleTitleKlippel-Feil syndrome in children: clinical features and management Childs Nerv Syst 1 255–263 Occurrence Handle3910229 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00272022 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DyaL287gs1Shtw%3D%3D
GE Pickett DK Mitsis LH Sekhon WR Sears N Duggal (2004) ArticleTitleEffects of a cervical disc prosthesis on segmental and cervical spine alignment Neurosurg Focus 17 E5 Occurrence Handle15636561
PD Pizzutillo M Woods L Nicholson GD MacEwen (1994) ArticleTitleRisk factors in Klippel-Feil syndrome Spine 19 2110–2116 Occurrence Handle7825054 Occurrence Handle10.1097/00007632-199409150-00020 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DyaK2M7isFGluw%3D%3D
AA Schaffer FS Kaplan MR Tracy ML O’Brien JP Dormans EM Shore RM Harland K Kusumi (2005) ArticleTitleDevelopmental anomalies of the cervical spine in patients with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva are distinctly different from those in patients with Klippel-Feil syndrome: clues from the BMP signalling pathway Spine 30 1379–1385 Occurrence Handle15959366 Occurrence Handle10.1097/01.brs.0000166619.22832.2c
LH Sekhon W Sears N Duggal (2005) ArticleTitleCervical arthroplasty after previous surgery: results of treating 24 discs in 15 patients J Neurosurg Spine 3 335–341 Occurrence Handle16302626 Occurrence Handle10.3171/spi.2005.3.5.0335
RB Southwell AF Reynolds VM Badger FC Sherman (1980) ArticleTitleKlippel-Feil syndrome with cervical compression resulting from cervical subluxation in association with an omo-vertebral bone Spine 5 480–482 Occurrence Handle7455779 Occurrence Handle10.1097/00007632-198009000-00014 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DyaL3M7gtlCjuw%3D%3D
S Vaidyanathan PL Hughes BM Soni G Singh P Sett (2002) ArticleTitleKlippel-Feil syndrome – the risk of cervical spinal cord injury: a case report BMC Fam Pract 3 6 Occurrence Handle11985781 Occurrence Handle10.1186/1471-2296-3-6
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yi, S., Kim, S., Shin, H. et al. Cervical arthroplasty in a patient with Klippel-Feil syndrome. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 149, 805–809 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-007-1115-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-007-1115-7