• Min-Ji Tong, Yuan-Bo Hu, Xiang-Yang Wang, Si-Pin Zhu, Nai-Feng Tian, Ming-Qiao Fang, Hua-Zi Xu, and Guang-Heng Xiang.
• Zhejiang Spine Research Center, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.
• World Neurosurg. 2017 Aug 1; 104: 361-366.

ObjectiveTo report a new index, the spinal cord (SC) line, and a new classification to predict postoperative recovery effect in patients with multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM).MethodsOn T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine, point A is the posteroinferior point of the spinal cord at C2, and point B is the posterosuperior point of the spinal cord at C7. The SC line is defined as a line connecting A and B. The posterior surface of the compressor at the compression level does not exceed the line in SC line type I, touches the line in type II, and exceeds the line in type III. Between January 2010 and January 2015, 121 patients with multilevel CSM who underwent surgery through an anterior approach (anterior cervical corpectomy with fusion or anterior cervical discectomy and fusion) or a posterior approach (laminoplasty or laminectomy) in our hospital were studied retrospectively. The patients were classified into 3 groups according to SC line type (I, II, or III).ResultsIn the anterior surgical approach group, the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) recovery rate at the last follow-up was 84.88 ± 3.06% for SC line type I, 78.05 ± 2.89% for type II, and 68.69 ± 3.21% for type III. In the posterior surgical approach group, the JOA recovery rate at last follow-up was 69.35 ± 8.73% for type I, 58.05 ± 5.88% for type II, and 47.98 ± 4.31% for type III. The anterior surgery approach was associated with a higher postoperative recovery rate than the posterior surgery approach in type II and type III groups (type II anterior vs. type II posterior: 78.05 ± 2.89% vs. 58.05 ± 5.88%, P = 0.003; type III anterior vs. type III posterior: 68.69 ± 3.21% vs. 47.98 ± 4.31%, P = 0.001). In contrast, the anterior and posterior surgery were associated with similar postoperative recovery rates in the type I group (84.88 ± 3.06% vs. 69.35 ± 8.73%; P = 0.820).ConclusionsThe SC line and its classifications can predict postoperative recovery in patients with multilevel CSM.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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