Failure of cervical arthroplasty in a patient with adjacent segment disease associated with Klippel-Feil syndrome

Cervical arthroplasty may be justified in patients with Klippel-Feil syndrome (KFS) in order to preserve cervical motion. The aim of this paper is to report an arthroplasty failure in a patient with KFS. A 36-year-old woman with KFS underwent two-level arthroplasty for adjacent segment disc degeneration. Anterior migration of the cranial prosthesis was encountered 5 months postoperatively and was successfully revised with anterior cervical fusion. Cervical arthroplasty in an extensively stiff and fused neck is challenging and may lead to catastrophic failure. Although motion preservation is desirable in KFS, the special biomechanical features may hinder arthroplasty. Fusion or hybrid constructs may represent more reasonable options, especially when multiple fused segments are present.