title: Treatment of Chiari malformation: who, when and how.
abstract: There is no effective alternative to surgery in the treatment of the symptomatic cases of chiari malformation. Nonetheless, in literature there is no unanimous consensus about what is the surgical "gold standard" and which are the candidates for surgery. No doubt that intracranial hypertension and ventricular dilatation have to be investigated and treated before considering decompression. It is also very important to keep in mind that a surgery does not guarantee a complete recovery from every symptoms. We report our experience about who are the candidates for surgery, which is the most appropriate surgical technique and when is the correct time for surgery along the natural history of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Sciences, Division of Neurosurgery, Center of Excellence for Technological Innovation in Surgery ITC, Federico II University School of Medicine, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Imperato
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Seneca
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cioffi
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Colella
authors.forename: Michelangelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gangemi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001139:Arnold-Chiari Malformation / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D019299:Decompression, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013595:Syringomyelia / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult