Klippel-Feil syndrome is a bone disorder that is characterized by the abnormal joining (fusion) of two or more spinal bones in the neck (cervical vertebrae). The vertebral fusion is present from birth. Cases of Klippel-Feil syndrome may be classified using the Samartzis classification system. This system divides the condition into three types based on the number of fused vertebrae and whether the fused vertebrae are next to each other (contiguous). According to the Samartzis classification, type I involves a single fusion of two vertebrae, type II involves multiple fused vertebrae that are not contiguous, and type III involves multiple fused vertebrae that are contiguous. Klippel-Feil syndrome has been described as having three classic features: a short neck, the appearance of a low hairline at the back of the head, and a limited range of motion in the neck. However, less than half of the individuals who have been diagnosed with Klippel-Feil syndrome have all three features. People with Klippel-Feil syndrome may have additional signs and symptoms, and these can vary greatly among affected individuals. Some people with Klippel-Feil syndrome do not have any signs or symptoms. The fused vertebrae in people with Klippel-Feil syndrome can cause health problems. These include chronic headaches; muscle pain; and an involuntary tensing of the neck, which causes the head to tilt or turn (torticollis). Because some of the cervical vertebrae are fused, this region of the neck can become unstable, which increases the risk of damage to the spinal cord. The fused area of the spine may be more susceptible to trauma, such as a fall or car accident. Some individuals with Klippel-Feil syndrome have a narrowing of the spinal canal (spinal stenosis) in the neck, which can put pressure on the spinal cord and nerves. This may be more common in those with Klippel-Feil syndrome type III. People with Klippel-Feil syndrome may have additional skeletal features, such as rib abnormalities or an abnormal side-to-side curvature of the spine (scoliosis). Approximately 20 to 30 percent of affected individuals have a skeletal condition called Sprengel deformity, in which the shoulder blades are underdeveloped and sit abnormally high on the back. Additional signs and symptoms seen in people with Klippel-Feil syndrome may include a difference in the size and shape of the right and left sides of the face (facial asymmetry), hearing loss, eye abnormalities, or an opening in the roof of the mouth (cleft palate). Abnormalities of the heart or kidneys may also be present. Some people with Klippel-Feil syndrome have neurological issues, which can include a type of birth defect that occurs during the development of the brain and spinal cord (neural tube defect) and a condition in which intentional movements of one side of the body are mirrored by involuntary movements of the other side (synkinesia). Klippel-Feil syndrome may occur as a feature of other disorders, such as Wildervanck syndrome or hemifacial microsomia. In these instances, affected individuals have the signs and symptoms of both Klippel-Feil syndrome and the additional disorder.
Resource(s) for Medical Professionals and Scientists on This Disease:
RARe-SOURCE™offers rare disease gene variant annotations and links to rare disease gene literature.
About Klippel-Feil syndrome
Many rare diseases have limited information. Currently, GARD aims to provide the following information for this disease:
Symptoms:May start to appear during Pregnancy, at Birth, and as an Infant.
Cause:This disease is caused by a change in the genetic material (DNA).
Organizations:Patient organizations dedicated to this rare disease are available on GARD, or you may contact a GARD Information Specialist for additional information.
Klippel-Feil syndrome is caused by genetic mutations, also known as pathogenic variants. Genetic mutations can be hereditary, when parents pass them down to their children, or they may occur randomly when cells are dividing. Genetic mutations may also result from contracted viruses, environmental factors, such as UV radiation from sunlight exposure, or a combination of any of these. Learn more about genetic diseases from the National Library of Medicine (NLM).
If you suspect you may have this disease, you may want to start collecting your family health history. Information such as other family members who have had similar symptoms, when their/your symptoms first appeared, or exposures to any potential disease-causing environmental factors should be discussed with your medical team. This tool from the Surgeon General can help you collect your family health history.
Can diseases be passed down from parent to child?
A biological parent can sometimes pass down genetic changes, called mutations, that cause a disease or increase the chances of developing it. This is called inheritance. Knowing if other family members have had the disease, also known as your family health history, can give your medical team important information. The Surgeon General offers a tool to help you collect your family health history.
Autosomal Dominant
Autosomal means the gene involved is located on one of the numbered chromosomes. Dominant means that a child only needs to inherit one copy of the mutated gene, from either biological parent, to be affected by the disease.
People affected by an autosomal dominant disease have a 50% chance of passing on the mutated gene to their biological child.
Symptoms of this disease may start to appear during Pregnancy, at Birth, and as an Infant.
The age symptoms may begin to appear differs between diseases. Symptoms may begin in a single age range, or during several age ranges. The symptoms of some diseases may begin at any age. Knowing when symptoms may have appeared can help medical providers find the correct diagnosis.
Prenatal Selected
Before Birth
Newborn Selected
Birth-4 weeks
Infant Selected
1-23 months
Child
2-11 years
Adolescent
12-18 years
Adult
19-65 years
Older Adult
65+ years
Symptoms may start to appear during Pregnancy, at Birth, and as an Infant.
Symptoms
The types of symptoms experienced, and their intensity, may vary among people with this disease. Your experience may be different from others. Consult your health care team for more information.
The following describes the symptom(s) associated with this disease along with the corresponding body system(s), description, synonyms, and frequency (Note: Not all possible symptoms may be listed):
32 Symptoms
32 Symptoms
32 Symptoms
Musculoskeletal System
The musculoskeletal system is made up of the bones, muscles, and joints. Common symptoms of problems in the musculoskeletal system include pain, weakness, stiffness, noises in the joints, inflammation, and decreased range of motion. Diseases affecting the musculoskeletal system may be diagnosed and treated by an orthopedist, rheumatologist, or neuromuscular specialist.
Medical Term
Abnormal vertebral segmentation and fusion
Frequency
Uncommon
Very frequent
Very frequent
Always
This section is currently in development.
32 Symptoms
Navigating Health Care Decisions
On average, it can take more than six years to receive an accurate diagnosis. Many primary care providers (PCPs) may not be familiar with rare diseases, and patients often need to visit multiple specialists or seek second opinions to get answers.
If a diagnosis remains unclear, visiting a multidisciplinary care center or university hospital may help. These centers bring together teams of specialists who can work together to evaluate symptoms and coordinate a diagnosis. This team-based approach is also helpful after a diagnosis, when managing care for rare diseases.
Because only about 5% of rare diseases have FDA-approved treatments, finding the right healthcare team to manage your symptoms and overall health is essential. People living with rare diseases often face challenges such as delayed diagnosis, limited treatment options, and difficulty accessing knowledgeable providers. Building a care team that understands your needs can make a significant difference in your quality of life.
Your Health Care Team
Why is building the right health care team important?
Building the right health care team is key to the diagnosis, treatment, and management of your long-term health journey living with a rare disease. Start by choosing a primary care provider (PCP). Your PCP will be your main point of contact and help coordinate care with other medical professionals. Your PCP may order tests or refer you to specialists. To find a PCP near you, use the Medicare provider search tool and enter your location and “Primary Care Provider.”
Seeing multiple specialists is important for people with rare diseases because these conditions often affect many parts of the body and require care from doctors with different expertise. Most primary care providers may not be familiar with rare diseases, so involving specialists can lead to a more accurate diagnosis and better care. A coordinated team approach ensures that all symptoms are addressed and that care is well-managed. It can also connect patients with the latest research or treatment options.
These specialists may help in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of Klippel-Feil syndrome:
Multidisciplinary Care Centers
Is It Time to Get a Second Opinion or Specialized Evaluation?
If you've visited your PCP, met with specialists, and undergone the recommended tests, but are still searching for a diagnosis, it may be time to visit an academic medical center or, for pediatric patients, a children's hospital. Academic medical centers and children's hospitals, often called multidisciplinary care centers, typically bring together specialists from different fields to work together on complex cases like rare diseases.
Multidisciplinary care centers may offer more coordinated care and be involved in clinical research, which may help reduce the time to diagnosis and provide access to emerging diagnostic tools. Specialists at these centers may have a deeper understanding of rare diseases and serve as a resource when you'd like a second opinion, particularly when test results or treatment plans are not delivering expected results.
Children’s hospitals and large teaching hospitals may also offer dedicated specialists and programs for pediatric patients with undiagnosed or rare diseases. These programs bring pediatric experts together in one place and may provide more coordinated care for your child.
If a diagnosis, care management, or treatment plan remains unclear despite extensive efforts by your PCP and specialists, it may be time to find a rare disease expert for your disease, if available. A rare disease expert is a medical provider that has knowledge or training on specific rare disease(s), but there may only be a few experts in your state, region, or country. Rare disease experts may work at large research or teaching hospitals, sometimes called centers of excellence. Centers of Excellence commit to sharing knowledge and best practices that can lead to improved care and treatment for individuals living with a rare disease.
You can ask your care providers for help finding an expert or use directory tools to search for experts near you. The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) maintains a list of rare disease centers with experts that work together to find treatments and cures for a broad range of rare diseases. Search NORD's Center Directory to find experts near you.
Find Your Community
How can patient organizations help?
Patient organizations can help patients and families connect. They build public awareness of the disease and are a driving force behind research to improve patients' lives. They may offer online and in-person resources to help people live well with their disease. Many collaborate with medical experts and researchers.
Services of patient organizations differ, but may include:
Ways to connect to others and share personal stories
Easy-to-read information
Up-to-date treatment and research information
Patient registries
Lists of specialists or specialty centers
Financial aid and travel resources
Please note: GARD provides organizations for informational purposes only and not as an endorsement of their services. Contact a GARD Information Specialist for more information on organizations that may be dedicated to this disease. Please contact an organization directly if you have questions about the information or resources it provides.
Clinical studies are a part of clinical research and play an important role in medical advances for rare diseases. Through clinical studies, researchers may ultimately uncover better ways to treat, prevent, diagnose, and understand human diseases.
What Are Clinical Studies?
Clinical studies are medical research involving people as participants. There are two main types of clinical studies:
Clinical trials determine if a new test or treatment for a disease is effective and safe by comparing groups receiving different tests/treatments.
Observational studies involve recording changes over time among a specific group of people in their natural settings.
People participate in clinical trials for many reasons. People with a disease may participate to receive the newest possible treatment and additional care from clinical study staff as well as to help others living with the same or a similar disease. Healthy volunteers may participate to help others and to contribute to moving science forward.
To find the right clinical study we recommend you consult your doctors, other trusted medical professionals, and patient organizations. Additionally, you can use ClinicalTrials.gov to search for clinical studies by disease, terms, or location.
What if There Are No Available Clinical Studies?
ResearchMatch helps connect people interested in research studies with researchers from top medical centers across the United States. Anyone from the U.S. can register with this free program funded by NIH. Researchers from participating institutions use the database to search for and invite patients or healthy volunteers who meet their study criteria to participate.
Why may you want to consider joining the All of Us Research Program?
The All of Us Research Program is inviting 1 million people from all backgrounds across the U.S. to help build one of the most diverse health databases in history. Researchers will use the data to learn how our biology, lifestyle, and environment affect health. This may one day help them find ways to treat and prevent diseases.
ClinicalTrials.gov, an affiliate of NIH, provides current information on clinical research studies in the United States and abroad. Talk to a trusted doctor before choosing to participate in any clinical study. We recommend checking this site often and searching for studies with related terms/synonyms to improve results.
Contact a GARD Information Specialist if you need help finding more information on this rare disease or available clinical studies. Please note that GARD cannot enroll individuals in clinical studies.
Use the contact form to send your questions to a GARD Information Specialist.
Please allow 2 to 10 business days for us to respond.
ClinicalTrials.gov, an affiliate of NIH, provides current information on clinical research studies in the United States and abroad. Talk to a trusted doctor before choosing to participate in any clinical study. We recommend checking this site often and searching for studies with related terms/synonyms to improve results.
Contact a GARD Information Specialist if you need help finding more information on this rare disease or available clinical studies. Please note that GARD cannot enroll individuals in clinical studies.
Mondo Disease Ontology provides a logic-based structure unifying multiple disease resources in coordination with the Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) and support from the NIH National Human Genome Research Institute Phenomics First Resource.
GARD uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) for standard terminology to represent a disease's phenotypic and clinical features.
