Surgical Outcomes of Posterior Arch Resection of the Atlas Alone for Upper Cervical Myelopathy in Patients With Athetoid Cerebral Palsy: A Report of Two Cases

Yuji Endo; Kazuyuki Watanabe; Koji Otani; Yoshihiro Matsumoto

doi:10.7759/cureus.73946

Surgical Outcomes of Posterior Arch Resection of the Atlas Alone for Upper Cervical Myelopathy in Patients With Athetoid Cerebral Palsy: A Report of Two Cases

Cureus. 2024 Nov 18;16(11):e73946. doi: 10.7759/cureus.73946. eCollection 2024 Nov.

Authors

Yuji Endo¹, Kazuyuki Watanabe^{2

1}, Koji Otani¹, Yoshihiro Matsumoto¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, JPN.
² Department of Research for Spine and Spinal Surgery, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, JPN.

Abstract

This study reports two cases of upper cervical myelopathy with athetoid cerebral palsy (ACP) treated with posterior arch resection. Both patients exhibited good long-term outcomes with no recurrence at five or 10 years. Decompression surgery can be effective for ACP patients with upper cervical spine lesions.

Keywords: athetoid cerebral palsy; atlanto-dental interval; case report; posterior arch resection; upper cervical myelopathy.

Publication types

Case Reports