The causes of dysphagia after occipito-cervical fusion in patients with cranial-cervical junction malformation
ZONG Rui
ZHANG Jianfei
QIAO Guangyu
Abstract：Objective The causes of post-operative dysphagia after cranio-cervical junction malformation were explored.Methods The clinical data of craniovertebral junction malformation patients treated by occipito-cervical fusion were analyzed retrospectively.The cases were divided into two groups according to occurrence of post-operative dysphagia.The gender ratio,age,BMI,image results,and cervical alignments were compared.Results A total of 25 cases were included,in which 13 cases with dysphagia,and 12 cases without dysphagia.The incidence of post-operative dysphagia was 52％.The difference of age,gender ratio,BMI,post-operative tube period,whether associated with posterior cranial nerve symptoms before operation,whether associated with Chiari malformation between two groups showed no statistical significance.There were significant differences in post-operative CCA [(129.1 ±9.6)° vs (137.9 ±7.1)°] and dCCA [(-4.1 ±4.0)° vs (6.4 ±5.5)°] between dysphagia group and asymptomatic group.Correlation analysis showed that the severity of dysphagia was associated with post-operative CCA and dCCA.Conclusion Post-operative dysphagia after occipito-cervical fusion in cranio-vertebral junction malformation is common.It may be caused by the decrease of CCA after operation.
Keywords：Irreducible atlantoaxial dislocationCraniovertebral junction malformationDysphagiaUpper cervical alignmentClivus-canal angle
Publication Date：2017-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 502-506 )