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Three-Dimensional Imaging of Cervical Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament

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OPLL

Abstract

On the basis of a three-dimensional (3D) image analysis method for cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) and analysis of the progression of ossified lesions with this method, the mean annual rate of lesion increase in non-surgically treated patients (n = 41) was 4.1%/year. Risk factors for OPLL progression are younger age and obesity; younger age is the most important predictor. These findings reflect the natural course of OPLL, which is important in the clinical management of patients with the aforementioned risk factors.

Furthermore, we evaluated whether laminoplasty with instrumented fusion further suppresses the progression of OPLL compared with stand-alone laminoplasty using novel 3D analysis. A comparison of patients treated with posterior decompression and fusion (PDF) (the PDF group, n = 19) and laminoplasty (LP) alone (the LP group, n = 22) showed that the mean annual rate of lesion increase was 2.0%/year in the PDF group, which was significantly lower than the rate of 7.5%/year in the LP group. Notably, the mean annual rate of increase was gradually decreasing over time in the PDF group. This is the first study to prove a possible suppressant effect of posterior instrumented fusion on OPLL progression.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Niigata University Medical and Dental General Hospital, Niigata, Japan

    Keiichi Katsumi, Kei Watanabe, Masayuki Ohashi, Tatsuki Mizouchi & Naoto Endo

  2. Spine Center, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Niigata Central Hospital, Niigata, Japan

    Keiichi Katsumi

  3. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Uonuma Institute of Community Medicine, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital, Minami-uonuma City, Niigata, Japan

    Toru Hirano

  4. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Niigata Minami Hospital, Niigata, Japan

    Tomohiro Izumi

Authors
  1. Keiichi Katsumi
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  2. Toru Hirano
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  3. Kei Watanabe
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  4. Tomohiro Izumi
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  5. Masayuki Ohashi
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  6. Tatsuki Mizouchi
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  7. Naoto Endo
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan

    Atsushi Okawa

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Keio University, Shinjyuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Morio Matsumoto

  3. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Osaka Rosai Hospital, Sakai, Osaka, Japan

    Motoki Iwasaki

  4. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Toyama University Hospital, Sugitani, Toyama, Japan

    Yoshiharu Kawaguchi

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Katsumi, K. et al. (2020). Three-Dimensional Imaging of Cervical Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament. In: Okawa, A., Matsumoto, M., Iwasaki, M., Kawaguchi, Y. (eds) OPLL. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3855-1_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3855-1_16

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-3854-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-3855-1

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