Hello COWPATTY. I had Chiari decompression surgery in 2006. I had a kink in my brainstem as well. I had something called a Basilar Invagination. This is a rare condition but sometimes found along with a chiari malformation. It is when a bone called the Odontoid Process, the bone your head pivots on, or cervical vertebrae 2, is pointed in the wrong direction, causing the brainstem to kink. The pressure from the cerebellum pressing on the brain stem will cause a kink too. I hope this information helps, and it may be a worthy thing to ask your doctor. I hope all goes well for you.