COMPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF ANTERIOR DECOMPRESSION AND FUSION OF THE CERVICAL SPINE (CLOWARD'S TECHNIQUE)

1972 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 140-140
Neurosurgery ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 809-812 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Benzel Edward ◽  
J. Larson Sanford

Abstract Thirty-five patients with complete myelopathies secondary to cervical spine fractures from C-4 to C-7 underwent spinal decompressions and fusions between 1975 and 1981. Twenty-five of these patients underwent simultaneous nerve root decompressions, 23 with an accompanying anterior decompression and fusion and 2 with an accompanying posterior fusion. Substantial recovery of nerve root function occurred in 15 of these patients. A posterior reduction and fusion without nerve root decompression was performed in each of the remaining 10 patients. None of these patients demonstrated a significant improvement neurologically. Operation for nerve root decompression is indicated in selected victims of spinal cord injury.


1981 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Abe ◽  
Mitsuo Tsuru ◽  
Terufumi Ito ◽  
Yoshinobu Iwasaki ◽  
Mitsuyuki Koiwa

✓ Anterior decompression and fusion for treating ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the cervical spine was performed in 12 patients. The central part of the vertebral body and the ossified area of the posterior longitudinal ligament were removed by means of a microrongeur and an air drill. The defect was filled with a long bone graft taken from the ilium. The operative results were excellent. Marked improvement of radicular and spinal cord signs was seen in all 12 cases. Three vertebral bodies were fused in one case, four in nine cases, and five in two cases. The highest level of fusion was C-2 and the lowest was T-1. It is considered that any ossification of the ligament below the C-2 level can be removed via an anterior approach as long as no more than five vertebral bodies are involved. Spinal computerized tomography was valuable in providing more detailed information about the stenotic spinal canal and the shape of the ossified ligament.


1989 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-42
Author(s):  
Masayoshi Oga ◽  
Kenichirou Shibata ◽  
Tsukasa Yamaguchi ◽  
Kazuo Hayashi ◽  
Youichi Sugioka

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