ArticleFrontiers in surgery2026
A case report and reconsideration of pathogenesis: C5 palsy after corrective surgery for severe congenital cervicothoracic scoliosis.
Article in Frontiers in surgery, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: This case report presents a rare case of C5 nerve root palsy following corrective surgery for severe congenital cervicothoracic scoliosis in a child, and explores its distinctive pathogenesis and treatment strategy. Methods: This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University (PJ-2021-100), and informed consent was obtained from the patient's guardian. The clinical data of a 9-year-old boy with congenital cervicothoracic scoliosis (Cobb angle of 99°) who underwent posterior corrective instrumentation and fusion were retrospectively analyzed. Typical C5 palsy developed on postoperative day 7. Imaging studies and the clinical course were used to identify the responsible mechanism. Results: Postoperatively, left deltoid strength decreased to grade II/III. CT excluded direct implant impingement, and no laminectomy had been performed, thus excluding the classic "posterior cord drift" hypothesis. Comparative imaging revealed a significant reduction in the vertical diameter of the C4-C5 foramen. We concluded that reduction maneuvers had transmitted excessive traction through the C5 pedicle screw, producing dynamic foraminal stenosis and nerve root stretching. Conservative management (with cervical traction and hyperbaric oxygen) was instituted, and complete neurological recovery was documented at 3 months. Conclusion: In cervical deformity surgeries performed without decompression, iatrogenic alteration of the foramina's geometry, produced by corrective forces, is an important and frequently overlooked mechanism of postoperative C5 palsy. Surgeons should avoid overtightening a single screw during rod reduction; once the complication occurs, systematic conservative treatment usually yields a favorable outcome.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.