scholarly journals Comparison of Two Reconstructive Techniques in the Surgical Management of Four-Level Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
FengNing Li ◽  
ZhongHai Li ◽  
Xuan Huang ◽  
Zhi Chen ◽  
Fan Zhang ◽  
...  

To compare the clinical efficacy and radiological outcome of treating 4-level cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) with either anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) or “skip” corpectomy and fusion, 48 patients with 4-level CSM who had undergone ACDF or SCF at our hospital were analyzed retrospectively between January 2008 and June 2011. Twenty-seven patients received ACDF (Group A) and 21 patients received SCF. Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, Neck Disability Index (NDI) score, and Cobb’s angles of the fused segments and C2-7 segments were compared in the two groups. The minimum patient follow-up was 2 years. No significant differences between the groups were found in demographic and baseline disease characteristics, duration of surgery, or follow-up time. Our study demonstrates that there was no significant difference in the clinical efficacy of ACDF and SCF, but ACDF involves less intraoperative blood loss, better cervical spine alignment, and fewer postoperative complications than SCF.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Luo ◽  
Kaiqiang Sun ◽  
Jingchuan Sun ◽  
Shunmin Wang ◽  
Yuan Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background To investigate the clinical effect of anterior controllable antedisplacement and fusion (ACAF) technique for the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy with spinal stenosis (MCSMSS), and compare ACAF with hybrid decompression fixation (HDF). Methods A retrospective analysis of 85 cases with MCSMSS was carried out. 45 patients were treated with ACAF, while 40 patients were treated with HDF. The operation time, intraoperative bleeding volume, postoperative complications, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, Neck Disability Index (NDI) score, Computed Tomography (CT) transverse measurement, cervical curvature and Kang's grade were compared between two groups. Results The patients were followed up for 12 to 17 months. Compared with HDF, ACAF group achieved better decompression according to CT measurement and Kang’s grade (P < 0.05), and recovered to a greater cervical Cobb’s angle (P < 0.05). However, JOA score and NDI index showed no significant difference one year after surgery (P>0.05). Additionally, ACAF presented longer operation time and greater intraoperative blood loss (P < 0.05). As to complications, ACAF developed less incidences of cerebrospinal fluid examination (CSF) leakage, neurologic deterioration, epidural hematoma and C5 palsy by comparing with HDF. Conclusions ACAF is an effective method for the treatment of MCSMSS. Compared with HDF, ACAF has the advantages of significant decompression, increasing cervical curvature, and reducing the incidences of complications.


Author(s):  
K. Kotteeswaran ◽  
Syed Gaffar ◽  
Krishna. R ◽  
Keerthana Priya. R.

Aim: To find the effectiveness of laser therapy and ultrasound therapy along with muscle energy technique in treatment of Trapezitis. Materials and Methods: Non-equivalent quasi experimental study design was used in this study. Total of 30 subjects with trapezitis were selected using non probability convenient sampling technique.30 Subjects was divided into two groups by lot system. Group A received laser therapy and Group B received ultrasound therapy and for both the group muscle energy technique was given. The outcome measures are Neck Disability Index (NDI) for measuring Functional Disability. Data collected and tabulated was statistically analyzed. Result: Statistical analysis of post-test, Neck Disability Index (NDI) revealed that there is statistically significant difference seen between Group A and Group B. Conclusion: From the result, it has been concluded that Laser therapy with muscle energy technique (Group A) was more effective than Ultrasound therapy with muscle energy technique (Group B) on improving functional ability in subjects with Trapezitis.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11

OBJECTIVE Posterior C1–2 fixation without fusion makes it possible to restore atlantoaxial motion after removing the implant, and it has been used as an alternative technique for odontoid fractures; however, the long-term efficacy of this technique remains uncertain. The purpose of the present study was to explore the long-term follow-up outcomes of patients with odontoid fractures who underwent posterior C1–2 fixation without fusion. METHODS A retrospective study was performed on 62 patients with type II/III fresh odontoid fractures who underwent posterior C1–2 fixation without fusion and were followed up for more than 5 years. The patients were divided into group A (23 patients with implant removal) and group B (39 patients without implant removal) based on whether they underwent a second surgery to remove the implant. The clinical outcomes were recorded and compared between the two groups. In group A, the range of motion (ROM) of C1–2 was calculated, and correlation analysis was performed to explore the factors that influence the ROM of C1–2. RESULTS A solid fracture fusion was found in all patients. At the final follow-up, no significant difference was found in visual analog scale score or American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale score between the two groups (p > 0.05), but patients in group A had a lower Neck Disability Index score and milder neck stiffness than did patients in group B (p < 0.05). In group A, 87.0% (20/23) of the patients had atlantoodontoid joint osteoarthritis at the final follow-up. In group A, the C1–2 ROM in rotation was 6.1° ± 4.5° at the final follow-up, whereas the C1–2 ROM in flexion-extension was 1.8° ± 1.2°. A negative correlation was found between the C1–2 ROM in rotation and the severity of tissue injury in the atlantoaxial region (r = –0.403, p = 0.024) and the degeneration of the atlantoodontoid joint (r = –0.586, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Posterior C1–2 fixation without fusion can be used effectively for the management of fresh odontoid fractures. The removal of the implant can further improve the clinical efficacy, but satisfactory atlantoaxial motion cannot be maintained for a long time after implant removal. A surgeon should reconsider the contribution of posterior C1–2 fixation without fusion and secondary implant removal in preserving atlantoaxial mobility for patients with fresh odontoid fractures.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 466-474
Author(s):  
Shanmuganathan Rajasekaran ◽  
Dilip Chand Raja Soundararajan ◽  
Ajoy Prasad Shetty ◽  
Rishi Mugesh Kanna

Study Design: Prospective observational study.Purpose: To assess the safety, efficacy, and benefits of computed tomography (CT)-guided C1 fracture fixation.Overview of Literature: The surgical management of unstable C1 injuries by occipitocervical and atlantoaxial (AA) fusion compromises motion and function. Monosegmental C1 osteosynthesis negates these drawbacks and provides excellent functional outcomes.Methods: The patients were positioned in a prone position, and cranial traction was applied using Mayfield tongs to restore the C0–C2 height and obtain a reduction in the displaced fracture fragments. An intraoperative, CT-based navigation system was used to enable the optimal placement of C1 screws. A transverse rod was then placed connecting the two screws, and controlled compression was applied across the fixation. The patients were prospectively evaluated in terms of their clinical, functional, and radiological outcomes, with a minimal follow-up of 2 years.Results: A total of 10 screws were placed in five patients, with a mean follow-up of 40.8 months. The mean duration of surgery was 77±13.96 minutes, and the average blood loss was 84.4±8.04 mL. The mean combined lateral mass dislocation at presentation was 14.6±1.34 mm and following surgery, it was 5.2±1.64 mm, with a correction of 9.4±2.3 mm (<i>p</i> <0.001). The follow-up CT showed excellent placement of screws and sound healing. There were no complications and instances of AA instability. The clinical range of movement at 2 years in degrees was as follows: rotation to the right (73.6°±9.09°), rotation to the left (71.6°±5.59°), flexion (35.4°±4.5°), extension (43.8°±8.19°), and lateral bending on the right (28.4°±10.45°) and left (24.8°±11.77°). Significant improvement was observed in the functional Neck Disability Index from 78±4.4 to 1.6±1.6. All patients returned to their occupation within 3 months.Conclusions: Successful C1 reduction and fixation allows a motion-preserving option in unstable atlas fractures. CT navigation permits accurate and adequate monosegmental fixation with excellent clinical and radiological outcomes, and all patients in this study returned to their preoperative functional status.


Author(s):  
Kotteeswaran. K ◽  
Chiranjibi Kumar Nayak

Background: Cervical spine dysfunction is a cause of neck pain. The cause for it is believed to be a disorder (most likely malalignment) of the pain-sensitive facet joints (which may also be due to disc disruption). Dysfunction can also cause secondary muscle spasm, which can may lead to more pain and stiffness. Objective: To find the effectiveness of SNAGs and scapular strengthening exercises in the patients with chronic cervical dysfunction. To find the Neck disability index (NDI) score difference between the functional activities of experimental group and conventional treatment group. Methodology: According to inclusion and exclusion criteria a prior to the study, the principal researcher explained the procedures to all the subjects and inform consent obtained, 30 subjects taken through Random block design and numbering was done for all the subjects. All the odd numbers in one group and all the even numbers in another group are allocated by random table where each group had 15 subjects. The collected data was tabulated and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. To all parameters mean and standard deviation (SD) were used. Paired t-test was used to analyze significant changes between pre-test and post-test measurements. Unpaired t-test was used to analyze significant changes between two groups. Result: rom statistical analysis made with the quantitative data revealed statistically significant difference between the Group A and Group B, and also within the group. The Posttest mean value of Neck Disability Index (NDI) in group A is 12.00 and in group B is 13.80. This shows that Neck Disability Index (NDI) in Group B disability value were comparatively more than Group A disability value, P<0.0001. Conclusion: This study shows better improvement in reducing cervical spine dysfunction (neck pain) by scapular strengthening exercise than resisted neck isometrics. Both the techniques can be used in clinical practice.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 205031211876619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziad A Audat ◽  
Mohammad D Fawareh ◽  
Ahmad M Radydeh ◽  
Moutasem M Obeidat ◽  
Mohannad A Odat ◽  
...  

Background: Cervical spondylotic myelopathy increases with age, but not all cases are symptomatic. It is usually diagnosed clinically and radiologically (X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging). Surgical treatment is indicated in severe symptomatic cases, while treatment controversy exists in the presence of less severe cases. Anterior and posterior approaches are generally used for decompression with no significant differences in the results of both. Methods: A total of 287 patients of cervical spondylotic myelopathy were treated at our hospital between January 2004 and December 2015. Only 140 patients were eligible for our study. They had at least 5 years of follow-up using full clinical scores and radiological evaluation. They were divided into two groups: group I with 73 patients (aged 23–79 years) underwent posterior decompression, lateral mass instrumentation, and fusion, while group II with 67 patients (aged 33–70 years) underwent anterior decompression, instrumentation, and fusion. Neck Disability Index, local score, and X-ray were used in the evaluation of the patients. Results: Preoperative mean ± standard deviation of Neck Disability Index of both the groups was 32.06 ± 6.33 and 29.88 ± 5.48, which improved in the last visit (>5 years) to 5.81 ± 7.39 and 2.94 ± 5.48 for groups I and II, respectively (p value <0.05). The local score of groups I and II was (P = 1, F = 21, G = 31, E = 19) and (P = 1, F = 12, G = 36, E = 18), which on discharge day improved to (P = 1, F = 4, G = 12, E = 55) and (P = 0, F = 3, G = 6, E = 58) at last follow-up, respectively. Fusion rate was nearly equal for both the groups during all the follow-up intervals and it was 91.1% and 91.7% in the last follow-up. Conclusion: There were no significant differences in the clinical and radiological results between the anterior and posterior approaches used in the surgical treatment of spondylotic cervical myelopathy. However, statistically significant results of Neck Disability Index of anterior approach were not clinically important and may be due to changes in the size and shape of the neck in group II.


2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masatoshi Sumi ◽  
Hiroshi Miyamoto ◽  
Teppei Suzuki ◽  
Shuichi Kaneyama ◽  
Takako Kanatani ◽  
...  

Object Because the main pathology of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is spinal cord damage due to compression, surgical treatment is usually recommended to improve patient symptoms and prevent exacerbation. However, lack of clarity of prognosis in cases that present with insignificant symptoms, particularly those of mild CSM, lead one to question the veracity of this course of action. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the prognosis of mild CSM without surgical intervention by evaluation of clinical symptoms and MR imaging findings. Methods Sixty cases of mild CSM (42 males and 18 females, average age 57.2 years) presenting with scores of 13 or higher on the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scale were treated initially by in-bed Good Samaritan cervical traction without surgery. These patients were enrolled between 1995 and 2003 and followed up periodically until the date of myelopathy deterioration or until the end of March 2009. The deterioration of myelopathy was defined as a decline in JOA score to less than 13 with a decrease of at least 2 points. As a prognostic factor, the authors used their classification of spinal cord shapes at their lateral sides on axial T1-weighted MR imaging. “Ovoid deformity” was classified as a situation in which both sides were round and convex, and “angular-edged deformity” where one or both sides exhibited an acute-angled lateral corner. The duration of follow-up was assessed as the tolerance rate of mild CSM using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and compared between 2 groups classified by MR imaging findings. Furthermore, differences between groups were analyzed by various applications of the log-rank test. Results Of the initial 60 cases, follow-up records existed for 55, giving a follow-up rate of 91.7% (38 males and 17 females, average age 56.1 years). The mean JOA score at end point was 14.1, which was not statistically different from the mean of 14.5 at the initial visit. Deterioration in myelopathy was observed in 14 (25.5%) of 55 cases, whereas 41 (74.5%) of 55 cases maintained mild extent myelopathy without deterioration through the follow-up period (mean 94.3 months). The total tolerance rate of mild CSM was 70%. However, there was a significant difference in the tolerance rate between the cases with angular-edged deformity (58%) and cases with ovoid deformity (95%; p = 0.049). Conclusions The tolerance rate of mild CSM was 70% in this study, which proved that the prognosis of mild CSM without surgical treatment was relatively good. However, the tolerance rate of the cases with angular-edged deformity was 58%. Therefore, surgical treatment should be considered when mild CSM cases show angular-edged deformity on axial MR imaging, even if patients lack significant symptoms.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-445
Author(s):  
Alex Soroceanu ◽  
Justin S. Smith ◽  
Darryl Lau ◽  
Michael P. Kelly ◽  
Peter G. Passias ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVEIt is being increasingly recognized that adult cervical deformity (ACD) is correlated with significant pain, myelopathy, and disability, and that patients who undergo deformity correction gain significant benefit. However, there are no defined thresholds of minimum clinically important difference (MCID) in Neck Disability Index (NDI) and modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) scores.METHODSPatients of interest were consecutive patients with ACD who underwent cervical deformity correction. ACD was defined as C2–7 sagittal Cobb angle ≥ 10° (kyphosis), C2–7 coronal Cobb angle ≥ 10° (cervical scoliosis), C2–7 sagittal vertical axis ≥ 4 cm, and/or chin-brow vertical angle ≥ 25°. Data were obtained from a consecutive cohort of patients from a multiinstitutional prospective database maintained across 13 sites. Distribution-based MCID, anchor-based MCID, and minimally detectable measurement difference (MDMD) were calculated.RESULTSA total of 73 patients met inclusion criteria and had sufficient 1-year follow-up. In the cohort, 42 patients (57.5%) were female. The mean age at the time of surgery was 62.23 years, and average body mass index was 29.28. The mean preoperative NDI was 46.49 and mJOA was 13.17. There was significant improvement in NDI at 1 year (46.49 vs 37.04; p = 0.0001). There was no significant difference in preoperative and 1-year mJOA (13.17 vs 13.7; p = 0.12). Using multiple techniques to yield MCID thresholds specific to the ACD population, the authors obtained values of 5.42 to 7.48 for the NDI, and 1.00 to 1.39 for the mJOA. The MDMD was 6.4 for the NDI, and 1.8 for the mJOA. Therefore, based on their results, the authors recommend using an MCID threshold of 1.8 for the mJOA, and 7.0 for the NDI in patients with ACD.CONCLUSIONSThe ACD-specific MCID thresholds for NDI and mJOA are similar to the reported MCID following surgery for degenerative cervical disease. Additional studies are needed to verify these findings. Nonetheless, the findings here will be useful for future studies evaluating the success of surgery for patients with ACD undergoing deformity correction.


Author(s):  
Zhipeng Chen ◽  
Shuizhong Cen ◽  
Jionglin Wu ◽  
Rui Guo ◽  
Zhenhua Liu ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to compare a traditional cervical cage with a zero-profile (ZP) fixation device in patients who underwent three-level anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF) in terms of patient-reported outcomes (visual analog scale [VAS], Japanese Orthopaedic Association [JOA], and Neck Disability Index [NDI] scores), radiographic findings (sagittal alignment 2 years after surgery and likelihood of fusion), and complications. METHODS This study was a retrospective case series. Between January 2012 and December 2016, 58 patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) who required three-level ACDF procedures, as identified by spinal surgeons, were treated with three-level ACDF and an anterior cage-plate construct (ACPC) (n = 38) or a three-level stand-alone ZP device (n = 20). On the basis of patient choice, patients were divided into two groups (ACPC group and ZP group). All patients completed a minimum of 2 years of follow-up. Patient-reported outcome scores included VAS, JOA, and NDI scores. The radiographic findings included sagittal alignment and likelihood of fusion 2 years after surgery. Data related to patient-reported outcomes and sagittal alignment were collected preoperatively, postoperatively, and at the final follow-up. Intraoperative and postoperative complications were also documented and analyzed. RESULTS The clinical outcomes, including VAS, JOA, and NDI scores, showed improvement in both groups, and no significant difference was observed between the two groups. Sagittal alignment and height of the fused segments were restored in all patients. However, the authors found no differences between the ZP and ACPC groups, and the groups exhibited similar fusion rates. The authors found no differences in complications, including dysphagia, adjacent-segment degeneration, and postoperative hematoma, between the groups. CONCLUSIONS Use of ZP implants yielded satisfactory long-term clinical and radiological outcomes that were similar to those of the standard ACPC. Additionally, the rates of complications between the groups were not significantly different. Although the best surgical option for multilevel CSM remains controversial, the results of this work suggest that ACDF with the ZP device is feasible, safe, and effective, even for multilevel CSM.


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