title: Dropped head syndrome after multilevel cervical radiofrequency ablation: a case report.
abstract: METHODS
  Case report.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe a serious complication of multilevel radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of the cervical spine.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Percutaneous RFA is an accepted nonoperative modality for the treatment of neck pain. When the procedure is performed according to established guidelines, serious adverse events are rare.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors performed a clinical and radiographic case review.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A 54-year-old woman presented with neck pain and weakness with cervical kyphosis. She had undergone left-sided RFA of the third occipital nerve and C2-C4 facet joints 8 weeks prior to presentation. The patient was incapable of extending her neck, although the deformity was passively correctable. Imaging revealed no lesions to which the kyphosis could be attributed. As the deformity progressed over the subsequent 3 months, surgery was recommended. An instrumented posterior fusion from C2 to T2 was performed with correction of the chin-on-chest deformity and improvement in the patient's axial neck pain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dropped head syndrome is a rare yet potentially debilitating complication of multilevel cervical RFA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO.
authors.forename: Geoffrey E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Stoker
authors.forename: Jacob M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Buchowski
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Kelly
mesh_terms: D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D018908:Muscle Weakness / Q000209:etiology*; D019547:Neck Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D013577:Syndrome