Anyone had a craniocervical fusion for cervical pannus?

Posted by suking @suking, Jan 15, 2024

I may need this surgery to prevent "Christopher Reeve" paralysis. I am interested in hearing from anyone who has had this procedure.

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Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Feb 26, 2024

@suking I did some searching and found this comment from another member with cervical pannus. I have not found anyone talking about surgery for this condition.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/964529/
There is also this comment from another patient, but they have not been on Connect for a long time.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/comment/784668/
Jennifer

Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Mar 3, 2024

Hi @suking, I'm tagging @debbiepinkston59 and @leigh17 to bring them into this discussion.

In the meantime, can you share a bit more about your situation. It must be frightening to face the possibility of paralysis. May I ask what led to your having cervical pannus? Did you have trauma or deal with rheumatoid arthritis?

debbiepinkston59 | @debbiepinkston59 | Mar 3, 2024

Hi, thanks for reaching out. My son has Retroflexed odontoid with pannus. It seems that the pannus grows due to a lot of movement in the area (CCI) and his surgeon said the fusion surgery will correct the instability and over time the pannus will disappear as it is not “rubbing” and forming the callus type growth.
Another option is an odontoidectomy but most surgeons nowadays feel that fusion works best in the long term. And an odontoidectomy can cause further instability.