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Novel therapeutic strategy in the treatment of ossification of the ligamentum flavum associated with dural ossification

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Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the imaging characteristics of thoracic ossification of ligamentum flavum (OLF) combined with dural ossification (DO) and the clinical efficacy of zoning laminectomy.

Method

The clinical data of 48 patients with thoracic OLF combined with DO who underwent zoning laminectomy between June 2016 and May 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The modified Japanese Orthopedic Association (mJOA) score was used to evaluate neurological function before and after surgery, and the clinical efficacy was evaluated according to the improvement rate.

Results

The symptoms of all patients significantly improved after the operation, and the average follow-up time was 27.8 (10–47) months. In addition, the average mJOA score had increased from 5.0 (2–8) preoperatively to 8.7 (6–11) postoperatively (t = 18.880, P < 0.05). The average improvement rate was 62.6% (25–100%), with 16 patients graded as excellent, 21 as good, and 11 as fair. Cerebrospinal fluid leakage occurred in 12 cases (25.0%), and all of them healed well after treatment. No postoperative aggravation of neurological dysfunction, wound infection or hematoma occurred. At the last follow-up, there was no recurrence of symptoms and kyphosis.

Conclusion

The Zoning laminectomy described here is both safe and effective.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

This study did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Qiangqiang Pan and Yanyu Zhu have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Henan University, Henan Province, KaiFeng, China

    Qiangqiang Pan & Yanyu Zhu

  2. Zhoukou Central Hospital, Henan Province, Zhoukou, China

    Qiangqiang Pan & Yanyu Zhu

  3. Department of Spinal Surgery, Zheng Zhou Orthopaedics Hospital, Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China

    Zhenhui Zhang, Wei Mei & Qingde Wang

Authors
  1. Qiangqiang Pan
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  2. Yanyu Zhu
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  3. Zhenhui Zhang
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  4. Wei Mei
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  5. Qingde Wang
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. All operations were performed by Qingde Wang. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Qiangqiang Pan, Yanyu Zhu, Zhenhui Zhang, and Wei Mei. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Qiangqiang Pan and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. Qiangqiang Pan and Yanyu Zhu contributed equally. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qingde Wang.

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Ethical approval

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Zheng zhou Orthopaedics Hospital.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Cite this article

Pan, Q., Zhu, Y., Zhang, Z. et al. Novel therapeutic strategy in the treatment of ossification of the ligamentum flavum associated with dural ossification. Eur Spine J 32, 1068–1076 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-023-07549-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-023-07549-z

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