I had surgery for my Arnold Chiari back in 2005 and it went well. One of the main reasons for me getting the surgery was because of the Syringomyelia inside my spinal cord and the surgery was a success. Then in 2007 I was diagnosed with Tethered Cord Syndrome and had to have surgery again for that where they broke my one vertebrae and then drill a hole through it and then disconnected my spinal cord from my tail bone. Again I felt immediate improvement after the surgery. I still have severe back pain and neck pain and can not work but the surgeries helped me. If anyone has questions send me a message with your questions and remember a good surgery is the result of a good surgeon.