Intramedullary Signal Intensity and Other Prognostic Factors for Surgical Outcome in Spinal Cord Injury Associated With Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament (OPLL)

Abstract

Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) might cause stenotic changes in the spinal canal and lead to cervical myelopathy. Also, it may increase the risk of spinal cord injury (SCI) with various neurological deficits after minor trauma. However, there are only a few reports that discuss the influence of OPLL on the neurological outcome after acute cord injury. We have tried to find out whether severe spinal canal stenosis caused by OPLL affects neurological outcome after SCI without any bony fractures or intramedullary signal intensity (SI) changes on MRI to evaluate critical prognostic factors for SCI associated with OPLL.