Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

In those over 65, spinal cord dysfunction is common, and over 100,000 corrective surgeries are performed yearly. The leading cause of this dysfunction is cervical spondylotic myelopathy: neck vertebrae compress, causing pain, numbness/tingling, bladder issues, and a loss of balance/coordination. Which surgery is most effective? A first of its kind trial compared ventral or dorsal surgical in 163 patients. Improvement between patient groups was not significant at 1 year, which was the primary outcome measure.

The first author of the study, Zoher Ghogawala, MD, commented, “...surgery for treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy is on the rise, yet the optimal surgical approach remains unknown and complications are common. As confirmed by this trial, surgery is an effective treatment for myelopathy and both ventral and dorsal surgeries were associated with clinically meaningful improvements in patient-reported physical functioning.” The study concluded, “Among patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy undergoing cervical spinal surgery, a ventral surgical approach did not significantly improve patient-reported physical functioning at 1 year compared with outcomes after a dorsal surgical approach.”

 

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Other Categories:

• orthopedics

• rheumatoid arthritis

• spinal/spine

• Surgery