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Tracy 2004
Tracy 2004
Klippel-Feil Syndrome
Clinical Features and Current Understanding of Etiology
Klippel-Feil syndrome occurs in a heterogeneous group of segmentation defect of the cervical spine.22 It now is
patients unified only by the presence of a congenital defect in known that fewer than 50% of patients with congenital
the formation or segmentation of the cervical spine. Numer- defects of the cervical spine have all three signs of this
ous associated abnormalities of other organ systems may be classic triad (a short neck, low posterior hairline, and lim-
present. This heterogeneity requires comprehensive evalua-
ited ROM of the neck). The spectrum of anomalies known
tion of all patients and treatment regimes that can vary from
modification of activities to extensive spinal surgeries. This to be associated with Klippel-Feil syndrome is immense
also has made delineation of diagnostic and prognostic and variable (Table 1).7,10,17,19,41
classes difficult and has complicated elucidation of the ge- The designation Klippel-Feil syndrome includes a het-
netic etiology of the syndrome. Furthermore, it is unclear erogeneous group of patients unified only by the presence
whether Klippel-Feil syndrome is a discrete entity, or if it is of a congenital synostosis of some or all cervical vertebrae
one point on a spectrum of congenital spinal deformities. (Fig 1).39 The absence of population screening studies has
Pedigree analysis has identified a human genetic locus for the made it impossible to define the exact incidence and
disease. Mouse models suggest members of the PAX gene prevalence of Klippel-Feil syndrome.10 However, it has
family and Notch signaling pathway as possible etiologic can-
been estimated that it occurs in approximately 1:40,000–
didates. Only by identifying the link between the genetic
etiology and the phenotypic pathoanatomy of Klippel-Feil 42,000 births.40,41 A slight female predominance of ap-
syndrome will we be able to rationalize the heterogeneity of proximately 3:2 has been reported.10,18 Clinical evalua-
the syndrome. tion, natural history, and treatment of the disease are af-
fected by the pathoanatomy of the fusion and the type and
severity of associated anomalies present.
Klippel-Feil syndrome first was described by Klippel and The heterogeneity of patients with Klippel-Feil syn-
Feil22 as seen in a 46-year-old tailor evaluated for “pleu- drome has made delineation of diagnostic and prognostic
risy with pulmonary congestion and nephritis.” This pa- classes difficult and has complicated elucidation of the
tient had a short neck, low posterior hairline, and limited genetic etiology of the syndrome. Advances in molecular
range of motion (ROM) of the neck caused by a congenital genetics have led to reexamination of the classification
schemes currently used for Klippel-Feil syndrome, and the
relationship between Klippel-Feil syndrome and other
Received: May 21, 2003 congenital spinal deformities. The molecular and clinical
Revised: October 9, 2003 genetics literature addressing the etiology of Klippel-Feil
Accepted: February 18, 2004
From the *Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, The Children’s Hospital of syndrome is extensive. We present the salient features that
Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA; †Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Uni- orthopaedists treating patients with Klippel-Feil need to
versity of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA; ‡Division of understand these advances, their impact on diagnosis and
Human Genetics, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA;
and the §Department of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of prognosis, and the future directions of research on this
Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. complicated syndrome.
This work was supported by grants to K.K. and J.P.D. from the Cervical
Spine Research Society and the Ethel Brown Foerderer Fund for Excellence.
K.K. is a Hitchings-Elion Fellow of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and a Clinical Evaluation of Patients with
Florence R.C. Murray Fellow.
Correspondence to: John P. Dormans, MD, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Klippel-Feil Syndrome
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 2nd Floor Wood Center, 34th St. & Although affected patients have cervical anomalies at
Civic Center Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19104-4399. Phone: 215-590-1527;
Fax: 215-590-1501; E-mail: dormans@email.chop.edu. birth, Klippel-Feil syndrome usually is diagnosed at a later
DOI: 10.1097/01.blo.0000130267.49895.20 age.10 Neurologic, myelopathic, and biomechanical prob-
183
Clinical Orthopaedics
184 Tracy et al and Related Research
TABLE 1. Most Commonly Associated and the disorder is discovered incidentally when radio-
Abnormalities Found in graphs are done for an unrelated reason.7 Regardless of the
Klippel-Feil Syndrome7,10,17,19,41 presentation, after a synostosis of the cervical spine has
Anomaly Percentage of Patients been discovered, high quality radiographs of the patient’s
cervical spine must be obtained to evaluate the nature and
Congenital scoliosis > 50%
Rib abnormalities* 33% extent of the fusion.19,29
Deafness 30% Radiographic evaluation of the cervical spine of infants
Genitourinary abnormalities 25%–35% and children can be difficult, and differences are seen in
Sprengel’s deformity 20%–30% these patients compared with adults. Translation of one
Synkinesia 15%–20%
vertebral body on another may suggest instability associ-
Cervical ribs 12%–15%
Cardiovascular abnormalities 4%–29% ated with an adjacent fused segment or segments. How-
ever, pseudosubluxation of C2 on C3 or C3 on C4 may be
*Excluding cervical ribs normal in children younger than 8 years.11 Also, the ra-
diographic appearance of the cervical spine can change as
lems can lead to presentation. However, the most common a child grows, and incomplete vertebral ossification can
complaints of patients with congenital synostosis of the make fusions difficult to appreciate (Fig 1).10 Finally, the
cervical spine are pain and neurologic symptoms, and de- radiographs of children with fusions secondary to abnor-
creased rotation, flexion, and extension. Patients with at- malities such as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis occasionally
lantoaxial fusions seen incidentally on radiographs often can mimic the appearance of Klippel-Feil syndrome,40 al-
present at younger ages than patients with more caudal though the history and physical examination should allow
fusions.38 Patients with extensive fusions also tend to pre- the clinician to easily distinguish between this condition
sent at a very early age, perhaps because of cosmetic de- and Klippel-Feil syndrome.
formity.10 In some patients, the congenital synostosis is Advanced imaging techniques can provide additional
discovered to be part of a larger, named syndrome such as information not available with standard radiographs. Mag-
Wildervanck, Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser, or Golden- netic resonance imaging (MRI), including flexion and ex-
har.8,10 In others, the cervical synostosis is asymptomatic, tension MRI, is indicated when preliminary studies sug-
Fig 1A–B. (A) This lateral cervical spine radiograph of a child with Klippel-Feil anomaly shows fusion of adjacent vertebral bodies
(black arrowheads) and adjacent neural arches (white arrowheads). (B) A plain radiograph of a child with Klippel-Feil syndrome
can be difficult because of the dynamic situation of growth. An area between two vertebral bodies may appear open (black
arrowheads), although narrowed, but ultimately may fuse with time.
Number 424
July 2004 Klippel-Feil: Features and Etiology 185
gest instability or stenosis.10 Magnetic resonance imaging bility: C2-C3 fusion with occipitocervical synostosis, ex-
can be used to determine if the cervical malformation has tensive fusion over several cervical vertebrae with an ab-
compressed the brain, brainstem, or spinal cord.29 Mag- normal occipitocervical junction, and two fused segments
netic resonance imaging offers clinicians the ability to separated by an open joint space.7,18 In each instance,
evaluate the space available for the cord, assess the degree motion at one level of the vertebral column alters cervical
of spinal stenosis caused by the fusion, and detect CNS spine biomechanics such that dangerous instability and
abnormalities such as a syrinx, tethered cord, or diastomy- subsequent neurologic compromise can occur. This places
elia. Judicious use of these advanced imaging techniques, patients at increased risk of neurologic injury and often
in combination with plain radiographs, will provide ortho- presents as neurologic sequelae during the second or third
paedists with an appropriate understanding of the patho- decade. Alternatively, stenosis and osteoarthritis may de-
logic and surgical anatomy present in most patients with velop at interspaces between fused segments.19 As seen,
Klippel-Feil syndrome. Computed tomography (CT) is plain radiographs, CT, and MRI all offer valuable infor-
helpful in defining bony pathoanatomy but is associated mation about the pathoanatomy responsible for central and
with radiation exposure to the child. Other radiologic tech- peripheral neurologic sequelae.10
niques currently available, but of limited usefulness, in- Most asymptomatic patients with stable fusion patterns
clude three-dimensional reconstruction CT and fluoro- will not have cervical symptoms. Theiss et al39 reported on
scopic imaging. 32 patients with congenital scoliosis in whom cervical
Because of the numerous possible associated anomalies fusions were seen during the workup for scoliosis. None of
that may result in considerable morbidity (Table 1), com- the patients reported cervical symptoms at the time of
prehensive evaluation of all patients with Klippel-Feil diagnosis. During 10 years followup, only seven patients
syndrome is required. In addition to radiographs of the had cervical symptoms develop. Similarly, Rouvreau et al34
cervical spine, all patients diagnosed with Klippel-Feil found that only five of 19 children and adolescents with
syndrome should have imaging of the thoracic and lum- Klippel-Feil syndrome had neurologic complications de-
bosacral spine to look for other spinal anomalies and to velop during an average followup of 12.5 years. However,
monitor for the development of scoliosis.40 Thorough, if cervical symptoms do arise, symptomatic treatment may
periodic neurologic evaluations are necessary to rule out be appropriate. Modification of activities, bracing, and
cranial nerve abnormalities, cervical radiculopathy, or my- traction can be used to reduce symptoms, delay surgery,
elopathy.19 Cardiac evaluation, renal ultrasound (some- and prevent neurologic compromise after minor trauma in
times intravenous pyelogram), and audiologic testing are these patients.7,19
necessary to rule out disease in these systems.19 Associ- Patients with progressive symptomatic segmental insta-
ated anomalies are seen less commonly in the gastrointes- bility or neurologic compromise are candidates for surgi-
tinal, respiratory, and dermatologic systems,8 however cli- cal stabilization of the abnormal region of the cervical
nicians must be prepared to do workups for possible spine. Occipitocervical arthrodesis is accomplished most
anomalies. commonly through a posterior approach. Numerous tech-
niques are available, including onlay of autogenous graft
Natural History and Treatment of with or without an occipital periosteal flap.13 Internal fixa-
Klippel-Feil Syndrome tion is achieved using wire fixation, prefabricated Luque
There is a spectrum of clinical severity associated with rings, or the insertion of plates and screws.16
Klippel-Feil syndrome. Cervical fusions may be asymp- Most of the techniques available for occipitocervical
tomatic and identified only incidentally on radiographs arthrodesis were developed for adults. One technique,13
obtained for other purposes.7 Alternatively, patients may developed specifically for occipitocervical arthrodesis in
present with decreased neck ROM related to the extent of children (Fig 2), involves placing four burr-holes in the
cervical spinal involvement, neck and/or radicular pain occiput in transverse alignment. A corticocancellous graft
from degenerative changes or hypermobility, cosmetic from the iliac crest is positioned in the occipital trough and
concerns secondary to a shortened or webbed neck, or around the appropriate cervical vertebra. Wires are passed
problems related to anomalies in other organ systems that through the burr-holes and around the graft and are used to
are formed embryologically at the same time as the cer- lock the graft into place. This technique allows for in-
vical spine (including the inner ear, heart, and kidneys).10 creased stability of the fusion and relatively early removal
Although fused segments may directly limit neck ROM, of the halo immobilization device.13
more serious complications, including instability, hyper- Regardless of the surgical technique used, occipitocer-
mobility, and symptomatic stenosis, can arise at the inter- vical arthrodesis usually is accompanied with halo ring
spaces between fused segments. Three specific patterns of and vest immobilization.13 Complications related to halo
cervical fusion create a high risk for symptomatic insta- immobilization (pin-site infections) are common in chil-
Clinical Orthopaedics
186 Tracy et al and Related Research
Fig 2A–D. (A) Four burr-holes in transverse alignment are drilled into the occiput, with a 1-cm osseous bridge between the two
holes of each pair. (B) A corticocancellous ilial graft is shaped into a rectangle with a notch at the base for the spinous process
of C2 or C3. (C) Looped 16- or 18-gauge Luque wires are passed through the burr-holes, while Wisconsin button wires are passed
through the base of the spinous process of either C2 or C3. (D) The wires are crossed, twisted, and cut. (Reprinted with permission
from Dormans JP, Drummond DS, Sutton LN, Ecker ML, Kopacz KJ: Occipitocervical arthrodesis in children. J Bone Joint Surg
77A: 1234–1240, 1995.)
dren and adults. However, these complications do not pre- terior elements are present, wires most commonly are used
vent successful completion of halo immobilization in chil- to achieve atlantoaxial fusion. However, screw fixation
dren.12 can be used when the C1 arch is incompetent or when
As with occipitocervical arthrodesis, the techniques passage of sublaminar wires would be ill-advised because
available for atlantoaxial and subaxial arthrodesis vary by of decreased space available for the cord.16
the level of invasiveness, amount of instrumentation used, In children, the surgical procedures most commonly
and the stability of the resultant fusion. When intact pos- done for subaxial and sublaminar arthrodesis involve in-
Number 424
July 2004 Klippel-Feil: Features and Etiology 187
proposal of the first human Klippel-Feil syndrome locus, specification of vertebral identity and in occipital assimi-
SGM14,5 It has been proposed that the chromosomal in- lation of C1, evidence from current mouse models does
version disrupts the function of the SGM1 gene. This dis- not suggest that HOX mutations play a role in extensive
ruption may have unidentified, downstream consequences vertebral fusions.9
that alter axial patterning of the developing cervical spine
and result in Klippel-Feil syndrome.4 Positional cloning of
the SGM1 gene would provide greater understanding of DISCUSSION
the molecular and developmental mechanisms that cause
Klippel-Feil syndrome. The variations in pathoanatomy and associated abnormali-
Identification of genes in model systems, such as the ties seen in patients with Klippel-Feil syndrome necessi-
mouse, that cause phenotypic changes similar to those tate comprehensive evaluation of all patients and treatment
seen in Klippel-Feil syndrome complement genetic map- regimes that can vary from modification of activities to
ping efforts. The high degree of similarity between mouse extensive spinal surgeries. They also have led to a prolif-
and human genes allows researchers to use mouse mutants eration of classification schemes based on anatomy, prog-
with spinal defects as models for development of the hu- nosis, and genetic features of the syndrome.
man vertebral column. In particular, genes in the Notch The earliest classification schemes were based solely on
signaling pathway and PAX family are being investigated the anatomic distribution of the fused segments. Patients
for playing possible roles in vertebral segmental disorders. with Klippel-Feil syndrome were assigned to one of three
Discovery of mutations in a candidate gene in multiple, types: Type I, those with extensive fusions of many cer-
affected individuals would strongly support an etiologic
vical vertebrae; Type II, those with fusion(s) at only one or
role for that gene.
two cervical interspaces; and Type III, those with fusions
Notch pathway genes regulate cell-fate determination,
in the cervical spine accompanied by fusions in the lower
embryonic patterning, and somitogenesis.36 Mutations in
lumbar spine.15,41 Subsequent studies showed that patients
the Notch pathway genes Notch1, Dll1, Dll3, Hes7, Psen1,
with Types I and III most commonly had an autosomal
and Lfng disrupt somite segmentation in mice.33,36 Muta-
tions in the human Notch ligand DLL3 cause the vertebral recessive inheritance pattern, whereas patients with Type
malsegmentation disorder, spondylocostal dysostosis.1 In II most often had an autosomal dominant inheritance pat-
addition, disruption of the Notch ligand JAG1 defect re- tern.15,20,27 Generally, other skeletal abnormalities such as
sults in Alagille syndrome,26,31 a multiorgan disorder with Sprengel’s deformity and the presence of cervical ribs
67% of patients having vertebral disorders.14 Although most frequently were associated with Type II. Syndromic
Notch pathway genes are important for vertebral segmen- anomalies most frequently were associated with Type I.
tation, patients with Klippel-Feil syndrome are only be- Patients with Type II were least likely to have increased
ginning to be examined for potential mutations in these curvature develop in the sagittal plane of the spine, with
genes. less than 10° defined as scoliosis,37 whereas patients with
In mice and humans, nine PAX genes have been iden- Type I or III had a higher risk for development and pro-
tified that play important roles in development and share a gression of scoliotic curves.40
conserved paired-box DNA-binding region. In particular, Spinal kinematics in flexion and extension were used to
Pax1 and Pax9 have been shown to regulate somite seg- create a functional and prognostic classification.32 Com-
mentation in the mouse. Pax1 is strongly expressed in the parisons of motion at open interspaces were used to
developing vertebral column in mice. The mouse Pax1 stratify patients with Klippel-Feil syndrome into one of
mutations, undulated and Danforth’s short-tail, have se- four classes and identify the likelihood of having neuro-
vere malformations of the vertebral bodies, intervertebral logic symptoms develop. Patients with hypermobility of
discs, and ribs. In humans, mutations in PAX genes have the upper cervical segment were at greatest risk for neu-
been identified in several major human birth defects, in- rologic sequelae. Patients with hypermobility of the lower
cluding aniridia and Waardenburg syndrome.2,9 However, cervical segment were at greatest risk of degenerative
a human mutation in PAX1 has not yet been identified. change.
Other developmentally important genes, such as those As more genetic information became available, it was
in the HOX complexes, are required for the normal speci- possible to incorporate the mode of inheritance into clas-
fication and identity of vertebrae.23 For example, inacti- sification schemes. This information was combined with
vation of Hoxd3 in the mouse causes occipitalization of the location of the most rostral fusion found in a family to
the atlas,6 whereas a Hoxd4 mutation causes replacement form a revised anatomic classification.3 Fusions at C1 with
of the occipital region by supernumerary cervical verte- or without more caudal fusions were described as Klippel-
brae.28 Although HOX mutations may play a role in the Feil 1 (KF1), which had autosomal recessive inheritance
Number 424
July 2004 Klippel-Feil: Features and Etiology 189
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