Case 14236
Diagnosis: Neuro-Craniocervical Syndrome. Filum Disease. Descent of cerebellar tonsils (CTD – Arnold-Chiari Syndrome I). Deviation of the spinal column (Idiopathic scoliosis)
Date of the Section of the Filum Terminale (SFT) intervention according to the Filum System®: June 2021.
The young patient from Germany, whose parents prefer to remain anonymous, underwent surgery at our centre for the section of the filum terminale according to the Filum System® at the age of six.
Before the treatment, she presented a wide range of symptoms, including: headache with episodes of nausea, visual disturbances and dizziness, difficulties in expression and concentration, sleep problems, episodes of anxiety, irritability, nervousness, swallowing discomfort, cervical stiffness, sensory alterations in hands and feet, frequent pain in the dorsal and lumbar spine, pain in lower limbs, limitation in walking more than half an hour due to the symptoms, as well as chronic constipation.
After the intervention, the parents reported that all these symptoms disappeared immediately, also highlighting the objective improvement observed by therapists and the school environment: the disappearance of the lack of strength to lift the head, correction of body posture, greater strength and energy, as well as a clear improvement in concentration.
These progresses allowed the girl to move from a special support school to a regular primary school shortly after surgery, where currently, at the age of ten, she is the best in her class and is preparing to enter the Gymnasium – the advanced level secondary school in Germany.
Magnetic resonance imaging in the post-operative control four years after the intervention shows that the objective of the treatment has been achieved, stopping the evolution of the descent of the cerebellar tonsils (Fig.1). Moreover, the scoliogram shows the correction of scoliosis after the intervention, with the straightening of the spinal curvature (Fig.2).
Fig.1 Postoperative Case 14236: Comparison between the preoperative cranial MRI from 2021 and the control from 2025, four years postoperatively, showing unchanged descent of the cerebellar tonsils.
Fig.2 Postoperative Case 14236: Comparison between the preoperative Scoliogram from 2021 and the postoperative control from 2025, in which the straightening of the abnormal scoliotic curvature can be seen after the application of the Filum System®.
The Filum System® stops the evolution of Arnold-Chiari Syndrome I and Idiopathic Scoliosis; favouring clinical recovery and improving the quality of life of the patients.