Buckling Collapse of Midcervical Spine Secondary to Neurofibromatosis

Buckling collapse is the term typically used to describe severe kyphosis >100 degrees, characteristically seen in thoracolumbar tuberculosis. Neurofibromatosis is rarely associated with severe cervical kyphosis. Dystrophic changes in vertebra make surgical correction and fusion challenging. Single-stage cervical osteotomies (e.g., pedicle subtraction osteotomy, vertebral column resection) are commonly done in cervicothoracic junction. However, it is technically challenging and associated with high risk of vertebral artery injury, neural injury, etc. when performed in higher cervical spine. Hence in our case we did a staged procedure performing circumferential osteotomy for buckling kyphosis in the midcervical spine. Because it involved midcervical spine and there was no chin-to-chest deformity, we preferred the anterior-posterior-anterior sequence.