03/23/2026
Rylan’s annual checkup took a turn from routine when the nurse practitioner noticed an abnormal curvature in his spine, what she believed could be scoliosis. His parents, Ali and Eric, were referred to Dr. Blaise Nemeth, a UW Health Kids orthopedist, who scheduled an MRI to get a clearer picture.
The MRI showed that Rylan had a Chiari malformation, an abnormality in which part of the cerebellum, the bottom section of the brain, pushes down into the spinal canal, almost like a wine stopper. Rylan was born with this condition, though it was not discovered until this 6-year checkup. Some children who have a Chiari, including Rylan, also develop a fluid-filled cyst, known as a syrinx, in their spinal cord.
Once Rylan and his parents had a chance to sit down with Dr. Andy Stadler, a UW Health Kids neurosurgeon, everyone began to feel more reassured.
Dr. Stadler explained that Rylan’s Chiari malformation and syrinx were obstructing the flow of cerebral spinal fluid, which is the fluid that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord. To correct the problem, Rylan would need decompression surgery to create more space for the fluid to flow freely.
For a 6-year-old about to have brain surgery, Rylan impressed many at the American Family Children’s Hospital with his inquisitiveness and engagement with the surgery process.
After about three hours, Dr. Stadler emerged to say the surgery was over and successful. Rylan spent just two nights in the hospital, experiencing some expected nausea, which quickly settled down.
Just 10 days after surgery, Rylan returned to school on a shortened schedule. A few days later, he resumed a full-time schedule at school.
Rylan, now 8, is a happy third grader who enjoys reading, dinosaurs and sports like soccer, baseball and basketball. When he hears about anyone else who had surgery, his competitive instincts perk up and he asks if it was brain surgery.
