Surgery relieves rare disorder symptoms

LONGMONT — About one year ago, Danyelle Williamson was diagnosed with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, but a full body MRI scan revealed much more was happening.

After reviewing the MRI, doctors at the Children’s Hospital in Oakland, Calif., diagnosed the now Trail Ridge Middle School eighth-grader, with Chiari malformation, a brain disorder in which the cerebellar tonsil, a rounded mass in the cerebellum (lower back of brain), hangs down through the foramen magnum, a hole in the bottom of the skull, causing pressure. Normally only the spinal cord, blood vessels and nerves go through the hole.

As a result, Danyelle, 13, suffered from intense throbbing headaches that only could be relieved with a morphine shot at the emergency room, she said. She also suffered from dizzy spells that could last four hours, as well as insomnia and low energy.

Today Danyelle is doing much better, and her family attributes her success to her surgeons and the staff at The Children’s Hospital in Aurora.

On Jan. 16, Dr. C. Corbett Wilkinson, a neurosurgeon at The Children’s Hospital, performed decompression surgery. During the surgery, he removed the back part of Danyelle’s first cervical vertebrae and part of the occipital bone of the skull, taking the pressure off her brain stem and spinal cord.

That surgery stopped Danyelle’s headaches and dizzy spells, she said.

But Danyelle still suffers from short-term memory loss, said her mother, Shelly Williamson, 44. She still is exhausted easily and needs 10 to 12 hours of sleep each night. Even short walks can tire her out.

“She can forget simple instructions if she doesn’t do them right away,” Williamson said.

Wilkinson said those symptoms are probably not due to the Chiari.

Since being diagnosed with scoliosis at age 12, Danyelle had worn a back brace for 20 hours daily to straighten her spine. X-rays revealed her scoliosis worsened over time, putting pressure on her lungs and heart. Sometimes Chiari malformations can cause scoliosis, but Danyelle’s spine curvature is probably not related Wilkinson said.

On Aug. 4, Dr. Mark Erickson, chairman of Orthopedic Surgery at The Children’s Hospital in Aurora, performed surgery in which he placed a rod in her spine to straighten it.

Danyelle’s parents are grateful for the surgeons and staff at The Children’s Hospital in Aurora. The nurses always made sure they had everything they needed and the surgeons always were available for questions, they said.

Wilkinson said Danyelle should be cured of any Chiari symptoms, although sometimes symptoms can return from scar tissue.

“She can live a normal child’s life, but when she gets overexhausted, she has to stop herself to give herself a break,” her mother said.