Surgical treatment for cervical spondylotic myelopathy with different characteristics in imaging examinations

Abstract

Objective To investigate the clinical features, operation procedures and clinical outcomes of cervical spondy-lotic myelopathy with different imageological characteristics. Methods Two hundred and twenty one cervical myelopathy with different imageological characteristics patients between November 2011 and October 2013 were involved in this retrospective study. Patients were distributed into three groups, namely mild group （A）, moderate group （B） and severe group（C）, based on severi-ty of complexity by imageological variables （severity of cervical spine degeneration, the number of spinal cord compression, severi-ty of spinal cord compression and difficulty in operation）. Preoperative and postoperative Japanese Orthopaedic Association （JOA） score and mean recovery rate were collected to evaluate the postoperative clinical effects. Demographic data and imageological characteristics were recorded;Univariate analysis or analysis of variance was conducted to analyze the correlation between post-operative JOA recovery rate with gender, age, course of disease, severity of spinal cord compression, the number of segment with spinal cord compression, severity of disc degeneration, MRI T2 increased signal intensity, cervical instability, cervical kyphosis, developmental cervical spinal stenosis and ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament. Results There was no significant differ-ence in gender between three groups. There was significant difference in age, preoperative JOA score and improvement rate be-tween group A and group B （C）. All patients received decompression and reconstruction by anterior or posterior approach. The ra-tio of anterior approach in group A, B and C was 91.1%（72/79）, 79.8%（71/89）, 35.8%（18/53）. The last follow-up JOA recovery rate of group A, B and C was 75.4%±6.4%、67.7%±8.7%、62.8%±10.4%. The last follow-up JOA recovery rate was correlated with duration of disease, the number of spinal cord compression and severity of spinal cord compression. Age, duration of course, preop-erative JOA score, degree of cord compression, the number of segment with cord compression, degree of disc degeneration, MRI T 2 increased signal intensity, cervical instability, cervical kyphosis, developmental cervical spinal stenosis and OPLL. Conclusion Patients suffering from cervical myelopathy with different imageological have good prognosis by appropriate operation procedure. Key words: Cervical spondylosis Magnetic resonance imaging Surgical procedures; operative