Craniocervical junction malformation treated by transoral approach. A survey of 25 cases with emphasis on postoperative instability and outcome

An experience with 25 consecutive cases of craniocervical junction (CCJ) malformations operated upon via the transoral route is reported. Twenty-two patients also underwent posterior occipito-cervical stabilization with alloplastic material and in only one patient was transoral odontoidectomy and fusion with bone autograph performed. Indication for the transoral route consisted of an irreducible ventral compression of the cervicobulbar junction by the abnormal bone complex. Two patients died during the early postoperative period and the remaining 23 survivors were followed for an average of 3.5 years: 17 of these showed marked improvement and 5 a stabilization of the neurological disturbances. A further patient, who refused posterior stabilization, eventually died because of progressive cranial settling. Long-term results have shown this approach to be decisive in the surgical management of well-selected CCJ anomalies.