The Iowa orthopaedic journal
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Comparative Study
Operative treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy and radiculopathy. A comparison of laminectomy and laminoplasty at five year average follow-up.
The natural history of cervical spondylotic myelopathy is frequently one of slow, progressive neurological deterioration. The operative treatment for patients with moderate to severe involvement is decompression of the spinal cord. Laminectomy has been a traditional approach and laminoplasty has developed as an attractive alternative. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the outcomes of these two procedures in similar groups of patients at a five year average follow-up. ⋯ Laminectomy and laminoplasty patients demonstrated improvements in gait, strength, sensation, pain, and degree of myelopathy. Laminoplasty was associated with fewer late complications. Based on this analysis, we believe that laminoplasty is an effective alternative to laminectomy in patients with multi-level cervical spondylotic myelopathy or radiculopathy.