The Effect of Surgical Intervention for Delayed Cervical Central Cord Syndrome.

Shaofeng Yang,Yanan Liu,Zongyi Wang,Huilin Yang,Jun Zou

doi:10.1155/2017/7979850

Shaofeng Yang, Yanan Liu + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7979850

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Abstract

The authors retrospectively studied 11 patients with delayed cervical central cord syndrome (CCS) to investigate the efficacy of the surgical intervention on treatment for delayed CCS. The American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) motor scores, Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores, SF-36 scores, and neurologic status were analyzed preoperatively and at each time point of postoperative follow-up. The results show that patients with reversible spinal cord injury caused by delayed central cord syndrome can recover significantly after surgical intervention. Therefore, we suggest that surgical intervention is still the ideal choice for delayed cervical central cord syndrome.

Highlights

Cervical central cord syndrome (CCS) is one of the most common acute incomplete cervical spinal cord injuries, which was first described by Schneider et al in 1954 [1]
Surgical treatment for CCS was contraindicated for many years, because the natural history of CCS has been associated with a fairly good prognosis [1]
Our previous study supports the viewpoint that surgery could be safely performed in patients afflicted with CCS with spinal cord compression and/or cervical instability

Summary

Introduction

Cervical central cord syndrome (CCS) is one of the most common acute incomplete cervical spinal cord injuries, which was first described by Schneider et al in 1954 [1]. The authors of several long-term follow-up studies of patients with CCS undergoing conservative management have reported lateonset neurological deterioration, atrophy of the hand intrinsic muscle, disability of upper limb function, and so forth. Our previous study supports the viewpoint that surgery could be safely performed in patients afflicted with CCS with spinal cord compression and/or cervical instability. It has been demonstrated that surgery for CCS improves the neurologic recovery and the quality of life compared with nonoperative treatment [7]. It is generally accepted that surgical treatment is necessary for central cord syndrome (CCS) with an underlying cervical stenosis. As for CCS with evidence of significant spinal cord compression, we suggest performing surgery as soon as possible. That the physical condition of the patients could tolerate the surgery is the prerequisite

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