Heterotopic ossification following suboccipital craniectomy decompression surgery for Chiari malformation type I: case report.

Suboccipital craniectomy with duraplasty is a commonly performed procedure for children with symptomatic Chiari malformation type I (CM-I). Several dural substitutes are used for duraplasty, ranging from pericranium to synthetic materials. When available, autologous pericranium is often preferred due to its low cost, performance in obtaining a watertight closure, ease of suturing, and absence of immune reaction. Long-term follow-up data on the durability of various dural substitutes are lacking. The authors report a rare, long-term complication of duraplasty performed using an autologous pericranial graft, and they conduct a literature review of similar complications. Heterotopic ossification of an autologous pericranial graft is a rare complication of duraplasty. This dystrophic bone growth can be symptomatic due to compression of neural structures, and it requires reoperation for removal. Surgeons should consider this rare long-term complication in patients presenting with unusual symptoms after duraplasty with pericranium.