Study design: A case report and review of the literature are presented.
Objectives: To describe the clinical course and treatment of a patient with athetoid cerebral palsy who had quadriparesis due to an intraspinal cyst, following a failed occipitocervical fusion using sublaminar wires and rods.
Summary of background data: Intraspinal cyst as a cause of quadriparesis in a patient with athetoid cerebral palsy is extremely rare. To our knowledge, there have been no publications on this issue.
Methods: A 60-year-old man with athetoid cerebral palsy and a history of posterior occipitocervical fusion presented with quadriparesis. Salvage surgery for cervical myelopathy and pseudarthrosis was performed with laminectomy and rearthrodesis using the pedicle screw system. An intraspinal cyst was identified as the main cause of the paraparesis.
Results: Solid bony fusion and the improvement of paraparesis were achieved 2 years and 1 month after the surgery. He is now able to feed himself and to walk with a cane, both without assistance.
Conclusion: A physician managing patients with athetoid cerebral palsy should always be aware that an intraspinal cyst in the cervical spine may be the cause of cervical myelopathy.