[Stereotaxic destruction of the interstitial nucleus of Cajal on spastic torticollis].

Intraoperative clinical effects and the results of destruction were demonstrated in 31 patients with various forms of torticollis spastica subjected to operation on the interstitial nucleus of Cajal. The intraoperative clinical complex of symptoms was formed of changes of the toxic and clonic activity of the neck muscles and transient oculomotor and vestibular signs. The favourable postoperative results are evidence of the direct relation of the nuclear structures in the region of the posterior commissure to the mechanisms regulating the posture of the head and neck. Their exclusion may be one of the components of surgical correction of motor abnormalities in patients with torticollis spastica. These operations are more effective in the tonic form of the disease and in prevalence of the rotatory component in the impaired posture of the head.