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Ossification foci act as stabilizers in continuous-type ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament: a comparative study between laminectomy and laminoplasty

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Abstract

Background

In multilevel ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL), laminectomy is an effective surgical technique; however, there is a possibility of kyphotic alignment change after surgery. Nevertheless, in the continuous type of OPLL, the ossification foci are connected and may act as stabilizers preventing alignment change. We here compare the surgical outcome of laminectomy and laminoplasty in continuous-type OPLL of the cervical spine.

Methods

Seventy-three patients who underwent cervical laminectomy or laminoplasty for continuous-type OPLL from 2004 to 2014 were enrolled. The clinical outcomes were assessed by using the neck disability index, visual analogue scale, and Japanese Orthopedic Association scoring systems. Radiological evaluation with plain lateral radiographs was performed to observe alignment changes.

Results

The perioperative clinical outcome with laminectomy did not differ significantly from that of laminoplasty. Kyphotic change was observed in 3 of 35 patients with laminectomy and 3 of 38 patients with laminoplasty. Although loss of lordosis was observed in both groups, the C2–7 Cobb angle, sagittal vertical axis (SVA), and T1 slope did not demonstrate significant statistical differences between laminectomy and laminoplasty. Moreover, the C2–7 SVA in the C7-included laminectomy group (33.9 ± 13.4) became greater than that in the C7-excluded laminectomy group (24.8 ± 11.3) at the final follow-up (p = 0.049).

Conclusions

In continuous-type OPLL, the surgical outcome did not show any significant difference between laminectomy and laminoplasty. Laminectomy alone is also a good choice in continuous-type OPLL, similar to laminoplasty.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Spine and Spinal Cord Institute, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 211 Eonju-Ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06273, Republic of Korea

    Sunjoon Yoo, Sung-Uk Kuh, Dong-Kyu Chin, Keun-Su Kim & Yong-Eun Cho

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, Inha University, Incheon, South Korea

    Dalsung Ryu

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, Dong-A University, Busan, South Korea

    Hong-June Choi

Authors
  1. Sunjoon Yoo
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  2. Dalsung Ryu
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  3. Hong-June Choi
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  4. Sung-Uk Kuh
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  5. Dong-Kyu Chin
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  6. Keun-Su Kim
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  7. Yong-Eun Cho
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Correspondence to Yong-Eun Cho.

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All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. For this type study, formal consent is not required.

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No funding was received for this research.

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

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Yoo, S., Ryu, D., Choi, HJ. et al. Ossification foci act as stabilizers in continuous-type ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament: a comparative study between laminectomy and laminoplasty. Acta Neurochir 159, 1783–1790 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-017-3233-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-017-3233-x

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