title: Comparison of posterior fossa decompression with and without duraplasty for the surgical treatment of Chiari malformation Type I in pediatric patients: a meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Surgery for Chiari malformation Type I (CM-I) is one of the most common neurosurgical procedures performed in children, although there is clearly no consensus among practitioners about which surgical method is preferred. The objective of this meta-analysis was to compare the outcome of posterior fossa decompression with duraplasty (PFDD) and posterior fossa decompression without duraplasty (PFD) for the treatment of CM-I in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors searched Medline-Ovid, The Cochrane Library, and the conference proceedings of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (2000-2007) for studies meeting the following inclusion criteria: 1) surgical treatment of CM-I; 2) surgical techniques of PFD and PFDD being reported in a single cohort; and 3) patient age < 18 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five retrospective and 2 prospective cohort studies involving a total of 582 patients met the criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Of the 582 patients, 316 were treated with PFDD and 266 were treated with PFD alone. Patient age ranged from 6 months to 18 years. Patients undergoing PFDD had a significantly lower reoperation rate (2.1 vs 12.6%, risk ratio [RR] 0.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.08-0.69) and a higher rate of cerebrospinal fluid-related complications (18.5 vs 1.8%, RR 7.64, 95% CI 2.53-23.09) than those undergoing PFD. No significant differences in either clinical improvement (78.6 vs 64.6%, RR 1.23, 95% CI 0.95-1.59) or syringomyelia decrease (87.0 vs 56.3%, RR 1.43, 95% CI 0.91-2.25) were noted between PFDD and PFD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Posterior fossa decompression with duraplasty is associated with a lower risk of reoperation than PFD but a greater risk for cerebrospinal fluid-related complications. There was no significant difference between the 2 operative techniques with respect to clinical improvement or decrease in syringomyelia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery (Pediatric Neurosurgery), Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH, USA. srd@hitchcock.org
authors.forename: Susan R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Durham
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fjeld-Olenec
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001139:Arnold-Chiari Malformation / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003388:Cranial Fossa, Posterior; D019299:Decompression, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D004388:Dura Mater / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012086:Reoperation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013595:Syringomyelia / Q000517:prevention & control