I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself briefly.

My son is 16 and has a chiari 1 malformation. He had surgery in January, the herniation was 20 mm. He was very involved in sports, football & wrestling prior to his surgery. He had the surgery in part because we were told he could return to all sports after recovery.

It went well and he was cleared to return to all sports, including wrestling. He attended a wrestling camp and his symptoms returned. We are now seeking a second opinion as the first NS found nothing with his most recent tests and essentially said it is not chiari, although the symptoms are the same ones he had prior to surgery. So, we are back on the merry go round. My son has continued in competitive, stunt cheer and has quit wrestling and is now swimming instead.

I look forward to talking with you all!
Sherimom

Hi, and welcome Sherimom!
I'm so sorry to hear that your son's symptoms have returned. And let me say Wow! A 20 mm herniation is probably the largest I've heard of to date!

What are his symptoms now?

some sports he shouldnt have returned to . any kind if there is jumping . get a MRI and see whats going on. and make sure you had a chiari expert do the surgery . there is a chiari clinic in Wisconsin

I stumbled on your posting and had to comment. My son is 16 and recently diagnosed with CM1 with 19mm herniation. If all goes as planned, with insurance that is, he will have surgery with Dr. Menezes at Univ. of Iowa March 16. We can't wait. He is a swimmer, both for high school and club, but we are seeing a steady decline in his ability. Headaches are more frequent, heart palpitations, and dizziness. Gosh I can't imagine things that your son has been involved in. Way before we knew he had chiari he dropped out of sports like football and baseball because they gave him headaches. It wasn't until he joined track last spring and had pounding headaches that we thought "this isn't right". We live in MN and are traveling to Iowa. I certainly hope you find someone for a second opinion where you are or if you have to travel.

Just a word of caution, move into surgery with much caution. There are some wonderful doctors out there, and also some not so great doctors operating on their patients w/o the latest research. What type of surgery are you looking at, do you know yet what procedures will be done? move very slowly into traditional decompression. Remember always that surgery is surgery, invasive. I am not saying that it is bad - My surgery was in April of 2006, by the finest of surgeons - but he is young and there is no quick fix for this one. It is not a miracle of modern medicine, there will always be certain repercussions. and never,never,never move into this without a second opinion. It is ironic that this condition seems to manifest more quickly in young people involved in physical activities. I have found that with the activity, the herniation in the back of the brain actually pulsates into the spinal chord causing the increase in pain and manifestation of symptoms. Research ! and keep me posted. ~WyndyHopes~