Evaluation of treatment results of posterior approach surgery in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The most common cause of spinal cord disorder in adults is cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Surgical treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy prevents neurological disorders. The surgical procedure of choice should have the least complications with the best results. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the treatment outcomes of posterior approach surgery in patients with cervical spondylotic myopathy. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on 93 patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy for two years in Al-Zahra Hospital in Isfahan without a history of cervical spine surgery and spinal stenosis who underwent laminectomy. The criterion for measuring the severity of the disease was the Modified Japanese Orthopedic Association (MJOA) index to determine the severity of myelopathy (condition of the upper and lower limbs and sphincter condition). The studied variables included age, gender, disease severity and surgical complications including hematoma, infection, neurological symptoms and dura injury. Patients were evaluated before surgery and 6 months and 12 months later in the spine clinic. FINDINGS: In this study, 27 men and 66 women with a mean age of 60.06±10.35 years participated. The severity of myelopathy increased from 10.11±3.78 at the beginning of the study to 13.46±2.9 and 13.88±2.7 at six months and twelve months after surgery. In the upper, lower extremities and sensory disorders, a significant improvement was observed in patients in the sixth and twelfth months (p<0.001). Infection was observed in a small number of patients. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of this study, the use of elective surgery improved the symptoms of patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy in six months and one year follow-up. © 2020, Babol University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.