Complex Chiari malformations in children: an analysis of preoperative risk factors for occipitocervical fusion

Abstract

Patients presenting with basilar invagination, CM 1.5, and CXA < 125° are at increased risk of requiring an occipitocervical fusion procedure either as an adjunct to initial surgical decompression or in a delayed fashion. Patients and their families should be counseled in regard to these findings as part of a preoperative CM evaluation.