Basilar Invagination and Retroflex Odontoid???

[Guest guest]

Good evening all....

Just a quick question....

I noticed that a lot of you have a basilar invagination and retroflex

odontoid, exactly what are those, what are the symptoms, and how does

Dr. B fix those?

thanks,

Miranda

[Guest guest]

Miranda wrote:

I noticed that a lot of you have a basilar invagination and retroflex

odontoid, exactly what are those, what are the symptoms, and how does Dr. B

fix those?

Kathleen's response:

There are different degrees of basilar invagination or basilar impression.

It depends on how far the odontoid goes past the opening of the skull and

the severity of how tilted the odontoid is. A retroflexed odontoid means

that it is tilted, and sometimes pressing on the brain stem, causing a

medullary kink.

I have Basilar Impression, but I do get some flow past the tip of the

odontoid. The odontoid is part of C2 which is almost shaped like the small

pinky finger that will enter through C1. It is where the head pivots.

I also have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, so with the BI I have developed

craniocervical instability and will be having a craniocervical fusion so

that little bit of csf can continue to pass by the odontoid and my brain

stem related symptoms will be relieved.

This link gives you a labeled MRI, showing the odontoid with pannus (scar

tissue) at the tip:

http://www.chiariconnectioninternational.com/mriexamples.php

Most brain stem symptoms present on both sides of the body. Swallowing

problems, heart palpitations, nausea, vomiting, breathing/Central apnea, and

of course headache are my worst symptoms. I do get numbness down both arms

into my hands on occasion.

If the degree of retroflexion is greater, sometimes the odontoid will need

to be " shaved " down. It's called a transoral decompression. This entails

going through the back of your mouth to access the odontoid and removing at

least the tip. The next day the fusion would be done. It's a difficult 2

day surgery and you are most likely on the ventilator after the odontoid

portion of the surgery.

Thankfully, I haven't needed to have the anterior approach done.

Kathleen