I don't know if most of you have ventured to the csf site there are a lot of videos that go over much of what you all are asking. I spent almost half a day hearing the lectures regarding everything from Genetics to pain management, how do you know if your surgery worked and anything else you may want to know. Here is a link you all can go to http://vimeo.com/5387881 on this page there is a introduction of what Chiari is and to the right is a bunch of videos of different topics. I highly suggest listening to the 2 part about Questions you were afraid to ask about Chiari http://vimeo.com/16868832 there is a part 2 that goes with this. The gentleman talking is considered one of the foremost experts in the world on Chiari and Surgery.
If you want to check out some more resources CSFs page will lead you into information about chiari. The videos are also posted on this site. Both of these sites are constantly updating with new information. The website is http://www.csfinfo.org/
Another website that is very informative is Shannon's Hope. On this site there is a brochure that you can print out and give to your doctors that will point them in the right direction. There s also a ton of great information on this site. Website is
I hope some of this helps a lot of you who are wanting answers