Background:
Cervical dystonia, characterized by involuntary contraction of the cervical muscles, is the most common form of adult dystonia. We compared the preoperative versus postoperative 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scans to confirm the efficacy of selective peripheral denervation (SPD) for treating cervical dystonia.
Case description:
A 38-year-old male with the right-sided cervical dystonia underwent a left pallidothalamic tractotomy. However, the involuntary neck movement persisted and correlated with the 18F-FDG-PET/CT imaging that showed persistent FDG uptake in the right obliquus capitis inferior muscle. A subsequent SPD resulted in resolution of the dystonia that correlated with lack of further 18F-FDG-PET/CT uptake in the right obliquus capitis inferior muscle.
Conclusion:
The postoperative 18F-FDG-PET/CT documented the efficacy of an SPD in resolving a patient's cervical dystonia.