Respiratory failure caused by Chiari I malformation with associated syringomyelia

The authors report a case of a 38-year-old male with a Chiari I malformatio n and syringomyelia that presented with acute respiratory distress. Pulmona ry function testing was consistent with respiratory muscle weakness. A subo ccipital craniectomy and C1, 2, 3 laminectomies were performed on an emerge nt basis. Postoperatively the patient had significant improvement in his re spiratory status associated with a reduction in the size of the syringomyel ia on follow-up imaging. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved .