chairi malformation with growing bones

My son is 15 and was diagnosed with chairi malformation with the tonsils about 4 mm into spinal cord.
He was still allowed to play football as the neurologist determined it was safe.  My question is this the
x rays also showed his growth plates had not closed and he still had more growing to do.  With this growth
will the tonsils possibly be brought back up into the area they should be in and not hang down.  He is 6 feet
and they say he has about 3 more inches possibly.

[Neuro Forum]

Thanks for using the forum. I am happy to address your questions, and my answer will be based on the information you provided here. Please make sure you recognize that this forum is for educational purposes only, and it does not substitute for a formal office visit with your doctor.

It is not possible for me to tell you whether or not your son's MRI will normalize as he grows. However, do keep in mind that a 4 mm Chiari is usually in the majority of patients clinically insignificant, it rarely causes symptoms or if it does cause symptoms, they would be very mild. In only very rare cases if there is an associated cavitation of the spinal cord or hydrocephalus (too much "fluid on the brain") would a type I malformation (which your son's classifies as) be surgically corrected.

Research has been conducted on children who had Chiari malformations (some having >10 mm descent of the cerebellat tonsills) who were followed-up for years. Some were followed-up with serial MRI scans into adulthood. The large majority (more than 70% in one series) did not every require surgery, and in the large majority, any symptoms possibly attributed to the Chiari such as headache had improved. In some patients (18% in one research series), the descent of the cerebellar tonsills did improve, so that less part of that part of the brain was pushed down to the spinal cord. It is thought that as the skull grows, it might make room for that part of the brain to move up. In one series of patients, the only ones who had to go to surgery later on in life (and these were a small minority of patients) were those that developed spinal cord cavitation or hydrocephalus.

Thank you for using the forum I hope you find this information useful good luck.

[razzle5150]

there is a chiari thread on this under groups , go there and you will get more responses .