No shinkei geka. Neurological surgery
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Case Reports
[Postlaminectomy kyphosis of the cervical spine complicating spinal cord tumor in the foramen magnum].
Postlaminectomy kyphosis is rarely encountered as a sequela of decompression of the upper cervical spine, especially in adults. We present a case of disabling cervical kyphosis which developed after laminectomy for excision of a foramen magnum tumor and was treated successfully by occipito-vertebral fusion. A sixty-one-year old female was treated by laminectomy of the first through to the third cervical spine for a foramen magnum meningioma. ⋯ After we confirmed a lessening of the pain and improvement of the neurological symptoms during an axial traction using a halo-vest, posterior occipito-cervico-thoracic fusion was performed using Luque segmental spinal instrumentation and autogenous bone graft. After surgery the pain decreased and neurological symptoms improved. It is important to be aware of the complication of kyphotic deformity after laminectomy and once it has developed, it is recommended to stabilize the progression by early spinal fusion.