Surgical outcomes after posterior fossa decompression with and without duraplasty in Chiari malformation-I

Highlights • A retrospective review of the surgical outcomes in Chiari malformation-I patients with and without syringomyelia is reported. • Favorable surgical outcomes can be anticipated with extra-dural decompression of the posterior fossa in CM-I patients without syringomyelia. • For patients with syringomyelia and history of prior PFD, intradural intra-arachnoid decompression is required. • The prior history of decompression was associated with unfavorable outcomes. • The use of duraplasty was associated with longer duration of hospital stay and higher complication rate.