Dr. Minah Faiz Rashad
Medical Officer
ADK Hospital, Male'

 

Ali Niyaf

 

Intraoperative Ultrasonography (IOUS) is a controversial method of determining the necessity of duraplasty in cases of Type 1 Chiari Malformation (T1CM) with tonsillar herniation of C1 level and beyond. However, IOUS is a less invasive method of determining the adequacy of decompression along with the advantage of dramatically reducing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) related complications such as CSF leakage or meningitis and is believed to be a less traumatic procedure resulting in less intraoperative blood loss and post-operative pain. In addition to this it is also found to be paramount in reducing the duration of surgery and hospital stay of the patient. This case series evaluates the consequential advantage IOUS monitoring had on eight patients with T1CM who underwent Midline Sub Occipital Craniotomy (MSOC) with Foramen Magnum Decompression between the period of 2015-2018. It is evident that the key to the success of this procedure lies within the selection of the patients which require further objective guidelines.

Intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS), Type 1 Chiari Malformation (T1CM)