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Surgical outcomes of percutaneous endoscopic thoracic decompression in the treatment of multi-segment thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum

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Abstract

Background

Previous studies have demonstrated satisfactory outcomes of percutaneous endoscopic thoracic decompression (PETD) for single-segment thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (TOLF). However, the clinical outcomes of PETD in patients with multi-segment TOLF (mTOLF) remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PETD for patients with multi-segment mTOLF.

Methods

Eighteen consecutive patients (41 segments) with mTOLF were treated with PETD between January 2020 and December 2021. The clinical outcomes were evaluated using the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) score and Visual Analog Scale (VAS), whereas radiographic parameters were measured by cross-section area of the spinal canal and anteroposterior diameter of the spinal cord.

Results

The follow-up period ranged from 14 to 34 months. The mean operation time and blood loss were 154.06 ± 32.14 min and 61.72 ± 12.72 ml, respectively. Hospital stay after first-stage operation was 10.89 ± 2.42 days. The mJOA score and VAS score significantly improved at the final follow-up, with a mean mJOA recovery rate of 63.3 ± 21.90%. The incidence of complications was 12.2% per level. The radiographic outcomes showed adequate decompression of the spinal cord.

Conclusions

The present study demonstrates that PETD is effective and safe as a minimally invasive procedure to treat patients with mTOLF. All patients showed relief of their symptoms and improvement in neurological function.

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Data Availability

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

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Author notes

  1. Yunxuan Liu and Xingchen Li contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China

    Yunxuan Liu, Xingchen Li, Yingying Hou, Xiaoxin Chen, Honghan Huang & Yusheng Xu

  2. Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, 130117, China

    Xingchen Li & Xiangyang Leng

  3. The Third Affiliated Clinical Hospital of Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, 130118, China

    Ming Yan

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  1. Yunxuan Liu
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Correspondence to Xingchen Li.

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The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committee of The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University (approval no. 2021-KY-0342).

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Liu, Y., Li, X., Hou, Y. et al. Surgical outcomes of percutaneous endoscopic thoracic decompression in the treatment of multi-segment thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum. Acta Neurochir 165, 2131–2137 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00701-023-05603-9

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