Ethical implications of an incidentally discovered asymptomatic Chiari malformation in a competitive athlete.

The clinical and ethical implications of an asymptomatic 17-year-old competitive football player incidentally found to have a type 1 Chiari malformation without a syrinx on brain imaging are discussed. Considering that patients with Chiari malformations can sustain irreversible neurologic injury or death after a mild head injury, and given the lack of data describing the risk of catastrophic injury after head trauma, the ethics of clearing this athlete to return to play are reviewed.