Compression of the cervical spinal cord in achondroplasia

: Two cases of tetraparesis due to cervico-occipital spinal cord compression in infants with achondroplasia are reported. Neurological disorders in achondroplasia are produced by structural anomalies of the cranium and spinal canal. They can be divided into two categories: hydrocephalus and radicular and spinal cord compression syndromes. Cervico-occipital compression is more frequent in childhood and may occur very early, in the first months of life. Early diagnosis of this complication and anatomic evaluation can now be obtained by computed tomography, which shows the exact dimensions of the foramen magnum, and myelography. Achondroplasia requires very close neurologic monitoring and, when findings are abnormal, radiologic investigations of the cervico-occipital zone. This allows for early surgical management which is the only means of obtaining significant therapeutic results.