Regression of retro-odontoid pseudotumor following botulinum injection into cervical muscles

Masahiro Kawanishi; Hidekazu Tanaka; Yutaka Ito; Makoto Yamada; Kunio Yokoyama; Naokado Ikeda; Akira Sugie

doi:10.25259/SNI_606_2022

Regression of retro-odontoid pseudotumor following botulinum injection into cervical muscles

Surg Neurol Int. 2022 Jul 22:13:321. doi: 10.25259/SNI_606_2022. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Masahiro Kawanishi¹, Hidekazu Tanaka¹, Yutaka Ito¹, Makoto Yamada¹, Kunio Yokoyama¹, Naokado Ikeda¹, Akira Sugie¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Neurosurgery, Takeda General Hospital, Kyoto City, Kyoto, Japan.

Abstract

Background: Posterior fixation of C1/2 has become more commonly performed to treat retro-odontoid pseudotumor (ROP). Here, we report a 60-year-old female with cervical dystonia (CD), whose ROP regressed and whose quadriparesis improved after a series of cervical intramuscular botulinum injections.

Case description: A 60-year-old female with 30 years of CD newly presented with a progressive quadriparesis. When the MRI showed ROP compression the cervical spinal cord, she refused surgery and underwent multiple cervical muscular botulinum injections over the next 2 years. Following these injections, the patient's quadriparesis improved as the ROP regressed on subsequent MR studies.

Conclusion: Over a 2-year period, multiple cervical botulinum injections caused regression of a retro-odontoid cervical pseudotumor improvement in the patient's quadriparesis.

Keywords: Botulinum; Cervical dystonia; Regression; Retro-odontoid pseudotumor.

Publication types

Case Reports