Acta Neurol Scand 2002 Apr;105(4):326-9

 
Spinal accessory mononeuropathy following posterior fossa decompression surgery.

Rescigno JA, Felice KJ.

Department of Neurology, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT 06030, USA.

Isolated injury of the spinal accessory nerve is a well-recognized complication of surgeries involving the posterior triangle of the neck. The procedures most commonly implicated are lymph node biopsy and carotid endarterectomy. We present a patient with isolated injury to the spinal accessory nerve, localized proximal to the innervation of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, which was noted following suboccipital decompression for an Arnold-Chiari malformation. To our knowledge, this association has not been previously reported.

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