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Occipitopexy as a Fusionless Solution for Dropped Head Syndrome: A Case Report
Mazda Farshad1, Marco D Burkhard, José M Spirig
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Balgrist University Hospital, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Case:
A 68-year-old woman suffered from an irradiation-induced dropped head syndrome (DHS). Fusion surgery was vehemently rejected by the patient. A new surgical method, avoiding fusion, was invented and performed to treat her DHS. This novel surgical technique of "occipitopexy"-a ligamentous fixation of the occiput to the upper thoracic spine-is described in detail. One year postoperatively, the patient was very satisfied, able to maintain a horizontal gaze, and rotate her head 20° to each side.
Conclusion:
This is the first report describing "occipitopexy" as an alternative to cervicothoracic fusion for patients with flexible DHS.
