• Anni Rissanen, Mathias Hämäläinen, Johan Marjamaa, Jari Siironen, Seppo Koskinen, Juho Konsti, Jussi Numminen, and Anniina Koski-Palkén.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland; Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
• World Neurosurg. 2022 Nov 1; 167: e222e235e222-e235.

ObjectiveThe objectives were to study the effect of cervical laminectomy without fusion on the incidence of further cervical surgeries, the risk for cervical misalignment, and current functional status.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 340 patients who had undergone simple laminectomy for cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) at Helsinki University Hospital between 2000 and 2011.ResultsForty-one patients (12.1%) had later undergone another cervical surgery during the follow-up of a mean of 8.5 years (maximum, 17.5 years). The most common indication for further surgery was residual stenosis at adjacent or other cervical levels (34%). Five patients (1%) required further surgery for correction of a sagittal balance problem. The mean Neck Disability Index was 28% at a median of 9.0 years after laminectomy. The mean EQ-5D (EuroQol 5 Dimension 3 Level) index score was 58.8 for patients and 77.2 for age-matched and gender-matched general population controls (P = 0.000), indicating patients' reduced health-related quality of life. Worse preoperative condition in the Nurick score was related to a lower (i.e., worse) EQ-5D score. In an additional arm of the study with radiographic imaging (40 patients), the mean change in sagittal alignment was 4.0° toward lordotic, and a newly developed kyphosis was found in 7.5% of patients.ConclusionsBecause CSM is a serious degenerative progressive condition resulting in decreased health-related quality of life even after surgical treatment, the low rate of corrective surgery needed for alignment issues per se indicates that simple laminectomy can be a viable treatment option in treating multilevel CSM.Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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