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Syringomyelia resulting from arachnoiditis due to disseminated coccidioidomycosis meningitis has been previously established in the literature. Worsening syringomyelia after kyphotic cervical deformity correction in a patient with spinal coccidioidomycosis, however, has not yet been reported. Herein we present an extremely rare case of disseminated coccidioidomycosis with cystic cervical lesions and an associated syrinx which, after undergoing cervical kyphotic deformity correction in the setting of iatrogenic loss of cervical lordosis, experienced acute syrinx expansion requiring urgent syringosubarachnoid shunt. To our understanding, this is the first case reported of such an event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundThere have been no reports describing how cervical reconstruction surgery affects global spinal alignment (GSA).ObjectiveTo elucidate the effects of cervical reconstruction for GSA through a retrospective multicenter study.MethodsSeventy-eight patients who underwent cervical reconstruction surgery for cervical kyphosis were divided into a Head-balanced group (n = 42) and a Trunk-balanced group (n = 36) according to the values of the C7 plumb line (PL). We also divided the patients into a cervical sagittal balanced group (CSB group, n = 18) and a cervical sagittal imbalanced group (CSI group, n = 60) based on the C2 PL-C7 PL distance. Various sagittal Cobb angles and the sagittal vertical axes were measured before and after surgery.ResultsCervical alignment was improved to achieve occiput-trunk concordance (the distance between the center of gravity [COG] PL, which is considered the virtual gravity line of the entire body, and C7 PL

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate a new noninvasive traction method on the treatment of severe cervical kyphotic deformity.MethodsThe clinical data of patients with severe cervical kyphosis (Cobb > 40°) treated in Peking University Third Hospital from March 2004 to March 2020 were retrospectively summarized. 46 cases were enrolled, comprising 27 males and 19 females. Fifteen patients underwent skull traction, and 31 patients underwent suspensory traction. Among them, seven used combined traction after one week of suspensory traction. Bedside lateral radiographs were taken every two or three days during traction. The cervical kyphosis angle was measured on lateral radiographs in and extended position at each point in time. The correction rate and evaluated Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scoring for the function of the spinal cord were also measured. The data before and after the operation were compared with paired sample t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test.ResultsNo neurological deterioration occurred during the skull traction and the cervical suspensory traction. There were 12 patients with normal neurological function, and the JOA score of the other 34 patients improved from 11.5 ± 2.8 to 15.4 ± 1.8 at the end of follow up (P

Background: Iatrogenic cervical deformity is a devastating complication that can result from a well-intended operation but a poor understanding of the individual biomechanics of a patient's spine. Patient factors, such as bone fragility, high T1 slope, and undiagnosed myopathies often play a role in perpetuating a deformity despite an otherwise successful surgery. This imbalance can lead to significant morbidity and a decreased quality of life., Observations: A 55-year-old male presented to the authors' clinic with a chin-to-chest deformity and cervical myelopathy. He previously had an anterior C2-T2 fixation and a posterior C1-T6 instrumented fusion. He subsequently developed screw pullout at multiple levels, so the original surgeon removed all of the posterior hardware. The T1 cage (original corpectomy) severely subsided into the body of T2, generating an angular kyphosis that eventually developed a rigid osseous circumferential union at the cervicothoracic junction with severe cord compression. An anterior approach was not feasible; therefore, a 3-column osteotomy/fusion in the upper thoracic spine was planned whereby 1 of the T2 screws would need to be removed from a posterior approach for the reduction to take place., Lessons: This case highlights the devastating effect of a hardware complication leading to a fixed cervical spine deformity and the complex decision making involved to safely correct the challenging deformity and restore function.

Morquio’s syndrome is associated with systemic skeletal hypoplasia leading to generalized skeletal deformation. The hypoplasia of odontoid process is frequent association, which is responsible for atlantoaxial dislocation causing compressive myelopathy. However, development of sub‑axial cervical kyphotic deformity unassociated with odontoid hypoplasia is extremely rare, and coexistence of dorsal kyphotic deformity is not reported in the western literature till date and represents first case. Current case is 16‑year‑old boy, who presented with severe kyphotic deformity of cervical spine with spastic quadriparesis. Interestingly, he also had additional asymptomatic kyphotic deformity of dorsal spine; however, odontoid proves hypoplasia was not observed. He was only symptomatic for cervical compression, accordingly surgery was planned. The patient was planned for correction of cervical kyphotic deformity under general anesthesia, underwent fourth cervical corpectomy with resection of posterior longitudinal ligament and fusion with autologous bone graft derived from right fibula, which was refashioned approximating to the width of the corpectomy size after harvesting and fixed between C3 and C5 vertebral bodies and further secured with anterior cervical plating. He tolerated surgical procedure well with improvement in power with significant reduction in spasticity. Postoperative X‑ray, cervical spine revealed complete correction of kyphotic deformity cervical spine. At follow‑up 6 months following surgery, he is doing well. Successful surgical correction of symptomatic cervical kyphotic deformity can be achieved utilizing anterior cervical corpectomy, autologous fibular bone graft, and anterior cervical plating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: No standard strategy exists for the management of cervical kyphotic deformity in patients with severe osteoporosis. In fact, in such subpopulation, standard algorithms commonly used in patients with normal bone mineral density may not be applicable. In this Grand Rounds, the authors present a challenging case of a patient with Hajdu-Cheney syndrome, a rare disorder of bone metabolism induced by a Notch-2 mutation, who presented with cervical kyphotic deformity and severe osteoporosis.Methods: A 65-year-old female patient with a previous diagnosis of Hajdu-Cheney syndrome presented with cervical myelopathy and cervical kyphotic deformity. The initial MRi demonstrated multilevel cervical canal stenosis. The CT-scan also revealed marked spondylolisthesis of C6 over C7 as well as numerous laminar and pedicle fractures, resulting in a cervical kyphosis of approximately 50 degrees.Results: The patient was submitted to 360-degree decompression and fusion of the cervical spine consisting of a staged C6 anterior corpectomy and multilevel microdiscectomies with wide opening of the posterior longitudinal ligament in order to provide a satisfactory release of anterior spinal structures, followed by 24 h of cervical halo-traction, a second anterior approach for bone graft implantation in the site of the corpectomy as well as insertion of allografts and completion of the ACDF C2-T1 and plating, and, finally, a posterior C2-T3 pedicle screw instrumentation using intra-operative CT-scan (O-arm) navigation guidance.Conclusions: This case illustrates some intra-operative nuances as well as specific surgical recommendations for cervical deformity surgery in patients with severe osteoporosis, such as avoidance of Caspar pins for interbody distraction, use of intra-operative fluoroscopy for achievement of bicortical purchase of anterior cervical screws and placement of pedicle screws during posterior instrumentation. Moreover, such illustrative case demonstrates that, in the subpopulation of patients with severe osteoporosis, it may be possible to successfully apply cervical distraction after an isolated anterior approach with a satisfactory improvement in the cervical alignment, possibly avoiding more laborious 540-degree approaches such as the previously described back-front-back or front-back-front surgical algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kyphotic deformity is often seen in Larsen syndrome. However, its progress in adults is not clear. The adjacent level compression in these patients adds to the difficulty regarding the level that needs to be operated. A 56-year-old male presented with neck pain and spastic quadriplegia. Radiology showed kyphotic deformity (sequelae of Larsen syndrome) with atlantoaxial dislocation. Cord compression was apparent at both levels but careful evaluation showed C1-2 level compression and some compression below the kyphotic deformity. The kyphotic spine was already fused and the canal diameter was adequate. The adjacent level C1-2 was fused and he improved dramatically. Correction of long-standing kyphotic deformity may not be necessary, as it unlikely to progress because of its tendency to fuse naturally. Rather, the adjacent levels are likely to compress the cord due to excessive stress. A proper clinical history and a thorough radiological examination help the surgeon to make an appropriate decision.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate a new noninvasive traction method on the treatment of severe cervical kyphotic deformity., Methods: The clinical data of patients with severe cervical kyphosis (Cobb > 40°) treated in Peking University Third Hospital from March 2004 to March 2020 were retrospectively summarized. 46 cases were enrolled, comprising 27 males and 19 females. Fifteen patients underwent skull traction, and 31 patients underwent suspensory traction. Among them, seven used combined traction after one week of suspensory traction. Bedside lateral radiographs were taken every two or three days during traction. The cervical kyphosis angle was measured on lateral radiographs in and extended position at each point in time. The correction rate and evaluated Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scoring for the function of the spinal cord were also measured. The data before and after the operation were compared with paired sample t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test., Results: No neurological deterioration occurred during the skull traction and the cervical suspensory traction. There were 12 patients with normal neurological function, and the JOA score of the other 34 patients improved from 11.5 ± 2.8 to 15.4 ± 1.8 at the end of follow up ( P  < 0.05). The average kyphotic Cobb angle was 66.1° ± 25.2, 28.7° ± 20.1 and 17.4° ± 25.7 pre-traction, pre-operative, and at the final follow-up, respectively ( P  < 0.05). The average correction rate of skull traction and suspensory traction was 34.2% and 60.6% respectively. Among these, the correction rate of patients with simple suspensory traction was 69.3%. For patients with a correction rate of less than 40% by suspensory traction, combined traction was continued, and the correction rates after suspensory traction and combined traction were 30.7% and 67.1% respectively., Conclusions: Pre-correction by cervical suspensory traction can achieve good results for severe cervical kyphotic deformity, with no wound and an easy process. Combined traction is effective for supplemental traction after suspensory traction., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2023 Shengfa, Hongyu, Yu, Fengshan, Li, Xin, Yinze, Yanbin and Feifei.)

Kyphotic deformity is often seen in Larsen syndrome. However, its progress in adults is not clear. The adjacent level compression in these patients adds to the difficulty regarding the level that needs to be operated. A 56-year-old male presented with neck pain and spastic quadriplegia. Radiology showed kyphotic deformity (sequelae of Larsen syndrome) with atlantoaxial dislocation. Cord compression was apparent at both levels but careful evaluation showed C1-2 level compression and some compression below the kyphotic deformity. The kyphotic spine was already fused and the canal diameter was adequate. The adjacent level C1-2 was fused and he improved dramatically. Correction of long-standing kyphotic deformity may not be necessary, as it unlikely to progress because of its tendency to fuse naturally. Rather, the adjacent levels are likely to compress the cord due to excessive stress. A proper clinical history and a thorough radiological examination help the surgeon to make an appropriate decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cervical kyphotic deformity represents a difficult to treat pathology often arising from multiple factors including, but not limited to, traumatic injuries, degenerative changes, and ankylosing spondylitis. Furthermore, treatment of these deformities becomes increasingly difficult with any preexisting instrumentation. Currently, several options exist to treat these severe deformities, with the Smith-Petersen osteotomy and C-7 pedicle subtraction osteotomy being the most frequently used approaches. However, these techniques come with significant risk to the patient including nerve root injury as well as compression of the vertebral arteries. The authors here report on a series of 4 patients with rigid cervical deformity who underwent T-1 pedicle subtraction osteotomy. The authors review the relevant literature and provide a novel, less risky, and potentially more corrective approach for treating cervical deformities.