[Peri-operative treatment with botulinum A toxin prior to posterior cervical decompression in a case with cervical spondylosis caused by spasmodic torticollis secondary to cerebral palsy].

Patients with spasmodic torticollis secondary to athetoid cerebral palsy may develop symptomatic degenerative cervical disc disease or spondylosis. In these cases, peri-operative stabilization of the cervical spine is considered to be difficult and recurrence occurs frequently. We reported a case with cervical spondylosis induced by athetoid cerebral palsy. A 44-year-old female with athetoid cerebral palsy had suffered from secondary spasmodic torticollis. 7 years previously, she had been admitted to our hospital for the first time with complaints of gait disturbance, dysesthesia and hypesthesia in all extremities. CT-myelography and MRI showed disc degeneration and spondylosis at the level of C4/5 and C5/6, compressing the spinal cord. She underwent C5 vertebrectomy and C4-6 anterior fusion. However, due to cervical dystonia, it was difficult for her to wear a Philadelphia collar, so she had to under go complete bed rest for postoperative neck stabilization. Her symptoms improved after the operation. 5 years after the first operation, she complained of gait disturbance and sensory disturbance, again. MRI showed compression of the spinal cord at C2-C4, rostral to the level of the previous surgical area. So we planned the second operation. Prior to the operation, we used botulinum A toxin to reduce the athetoid movement of the neck. And we performed C3-6 expansive laminoplasty and partial laminectomy of C2 and C7 laminae. After the second operation, she was able to wear the Philadelphia collar without trouble and her neurological condition improved again. Botulinum A toxin was very effective to control the spasmodic torticollis peri-operatively in this case with cervical dystonia.