Patients with ‘Benign’ Chiari Malformation Require Decompression at a Low Rate

2018 CSF Research Colloquium: New Chiari Malformation & Syringomyelia Studies

HYATT REGENCY - HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 6, 2018

Each year, CSF hosts an annual colloquium to improve the academic research space associated with the study of Chiari malformation, syringoymelia and related disorders. Experts are able to present their research and engage in meaningful discussions with others who look at these problems with a critical eye. All the presentations were based on recently published studies as of mid-2018.

Dr. E.B. Kuhn, a pediatric neurosurgeon at Children's of Alabama, talks a bit more about her team's new study involving young patients with Chiari malformation who did not undergo decompression surgery. The study found that a majority of the pediatric patients had symptoms that improved on their own and had overall good health outcomes, despite not having surgery.

This, along with past studies, adds to the growing body of evidence that not all pediatric Chiari patients require surgery, at all. Families should have thoughtful conversations with their doctors and they should, if they can, obtain a second opinion before the decision to have surgery can be made. (2018)

Revised: 9/2019