Everything you ever wanted to know about Chiari (Type 1) Malformations

The word is out...Sam is having surgery on Monday for his Chiari Malformation. We have had quite a few people ask questions about Sam's surgery and Chiari in general....so I thought I would post some links and info to help explain everything a bit more. There are two websites that were helpful to us (in addition to Primary Children's site) including:

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/chiari/chiari.htm
http://www.northshorelij.com/body.cfm?ID=6409

Feel free to check it out...or I can give you the “highlights”. (Warning: Book report coming up!)

What is a Chiari Malformation anyway? (most of this is from the first website)

Chiari malformations (CMs) are structural defects in the cerebellum. When the indented bony space at the lower rear of the skull is smaller than normal, the cerebellum and brainstem can be pushed downward. (Sam's is pushed down about 13 mm, and to “qualify” or Chiari there would only have to be about 3 mm.) The resulting pressure on the cerebellum can block the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (the liquid that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord) and can cause a range of symptoms including dizziness, muscle weakness, numbness, vision problems, headache, and problems with balance and coordination. (The second website describes symptoms as such - “The majority of patients complain of severe headache and neck pain. Other common symptoms are dizziness, vertigo, disequilibrium, visual disturbances, ringing in the ears, difficulty swallowing, palpitations, sleep apnea, muscle weakness, impaired fine motor skills, chronic fatigue and painful tingling of the hands and feet.”) Because of this complex symptomatology, patients with CM1 are frequently misdiagnosed. There are three primary types of CM. The most common is Type I, which may not cause symptoms and is often found by accident during an examination for another condition. (This was the case for Sam....we were having an MRI done for other reasons and they found the Chiari.)

What can be done about it?

Pain symptoms can be managed with pain medications, but surgery is the only “treatment available to correct functional disturbances or halt the progression of damage to the central nervous system.” There is also the possibility of paralysis if the Chiari were to get bad enough. Yikes!

So...that is my book report of the day. I hope you weren't too bored.

Love to you all!

(PS. Our laptop is still dead....really dead. We have to send it in somewhere that can try to recover any of our hard drive. ARGH! So, I haven't been able to blog much lately...especially pictures. As soon as I figure out another way to post pix easily, I will try to post some FUN stuff rather than this boring medical jargon!)