Skip to main content

Posterior Laminoforaminotomy for Radiculopathy

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy and Radiculopathy
  • 1353 Accesses

Abstract

Cervical spondylosis is a commonly encountered degenerative condition and represents one of the most frequently treated diagnoses in neurosurgery. Its prevalence has recently been demonstrated as 89.7% in patients with a mean age of 56.4. Additionally, these patients may have more severe symptoms from nerve root or spinal cord compression, resulting in radicular pain or myelopathy, possibly causing a neurological deficit. Posterior cervical laminoforaminotomy (PCLF) was first described by Spurling and Scoville in 1944 and represents a safe and effective surgical technique by which to treat cervical radiculopathy in patients who have failed conservative therapy. The aim of this chapter is to describe the indications, contraindications, techniques, and complications of PCLF while providing a review of the current literature regarding this approach.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Nouri A, Martin A, Tetreault L, Nater A, Kato S, Nakashima H, Nagoshi N, Reihani-Kermani H, Fehlings MG. MRI analysis of the combined prospectively collected AOSpine North America and International Data: the prevalence and spectrum of pathologies in a global cohort of patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2017;42(14):1058–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Hult L. The Munkfors investigation; a study of the frequency and causes of the stiff neck-brachialgia and lumbago-sciatica syndromes, as well as observations on certain signs and symptoms from the dorsal spine and the joints of the extremities in industrial and forest workers. Acta Orthop Scan Suppl. 1954;16:1–76.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Spurling RG, Scoville WB. Lateral rupture of the cervical intervertebral disks: a common cause of shoulder and arm pain. Surg Gynecol Obstet. 1944;78:350–8.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Lees F, Turner JW. Natural history and prognosis of cervical spondylosis. Br Med J. 1963;2(5373):1607–10.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Radhakrishnan K, Litchy WJ, O’Fallon WM, Kurland LT. Epidemiology of cervical radiculopathy. A population-based study from Rochester, Minnesota, 1976 through 1990. Brain. 1994;117(Pt 2):325–35. https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/117.2.325.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Iyer S, Kim HJ. Cervical radiculopathy. Cur Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2016;9(3):272–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Wong JJ, Cote P, Quesnele JJ, Stern PJ, Mior SA. The course and prognostic factors of symptomatic cervical disc herniation with radiculopathy: a systematic review of the literature. Spine J. 2014;14:1781–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spinee.2014.02.032.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Saal JS, Saal JA, Yurth EF. Nonoperative management of herniated cervical intervertebral disc with radiculopathy. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1996;21(16):1877–83.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Dodwad SJ, Dodwad SN, Prasam ML, Savage JW, Patel AA, Hsu WK. Posterior cervical foraminotomy: indications, technique, and outcomes. Clin Spine Surg. 2016;29(5):177–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Church EW, Halpern CH, Faught RW, Balmuri U, Attiah MA, Hayden S, Kerr M, Maloney-Wilensky E, Bynum J, Dante SJ, Welch WC, Simeone FA. Cervical laminoforaminotomy for radiculopathy: symptomatic functional outcomes in a large cohort with long-term follow-up. Surg Neurol Int. 2014;5(Suppl 15):S536–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Woods BI, Hilibrand AS. Cervical radiculopathy: epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment. J Spinal Disord Tech. 2015;28:E251–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Albert TJ, Murrell SE. Surgical management of cervical radiculopathy. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 1999;7:368–76.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Skovrlj B, Gologorsky Y, Haque R, Fessler RG, Qureshi SA. Complications, outcomes, and need for fusion after minimally invasive posterior cervical foraminotomy and microdiscectomy. Spine J. 2014;14(10):2405–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Zbeblick TA, Abitbol JJ, Kunz DN, McCabe RP, Garfin S. Cervical stability after sequential capsule resection. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1993;18(14):2005–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Jagannathan J, Sherman JH, Szabo T, Shaffrey CI, Jane JA. The posterior cervical foraminotomy in the treatment of cervical disc/osteophyte disease: a single-surgeon experience with a minimum of 5 years’ clinical radiographic follow-up. J Neurosurg Spine. 2009;10:347–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Bydon M, Mathios D, Macki M, de la Garza-Ramos R, Sciubba DM, Witham TF, Wolinsky JP, Gokasalan ZL, Bydon A. Long-term patient outcomes after posterior cervical foraminotomy: an analysis of 151 cases. J Neurosurg Spine. 2014;21(5):727–31.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Zeidman SM, Ducker TB. Posterior cervical laminoforaminotomy for radiculopathy: review of 172 cases. Neurosurgery. 1993;33(3):356–62.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Fessler RG, Khoo LT. Minimally invasive cervical microendoscopic foraminotomy: an initial clinical experience. Neurosurgery. 2002;51(5 Suppl):S37–45.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Clark JG, Abdullah KG, Steinmetz MP, Benzel EC, Mroz TE. Minimally invasive versus open cervical foraminotomy: a systematic review. Global Spine J. 2011;1(1):9–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Tumialán LM, Ponton RP, Gluf WM. Management of unilateral cervical radiculopathy in the military: the cost effectiveness of posterior cervical foraminotomy compared with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. Neurosurg Focus. 2010;28(5):E17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Henderson CM, Hennessy RG, Shuey HM, Shackelford EG. Posterior-lateral foraminotomy as an exclusive operative technique for cervical radiculopathy: a review of 846 consecutively operated cases. Neurosurgery. 1983;13(5):504–12.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Kumar GR, Maurice-Williams RS, Bradford R. Cervical foraminotomy: an effective treatment for cervical spondylotic radiculopathy. Br J Neurosurg. 1998;12(6):563–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Hilibrand AS, Carlson GD, Palumbo MA, Jones PK, Bohlman HH. Radiculopathy and myelopathy at segments adjacent to the site of a pervious anterior cervical arthrodesis. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1999;81(4):519–28.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Clarke MJ, Ecker RD, Krauss WE, McClelland RL, Dekutoski MB. Same-segment and adjacent-segment disease following posterior cervical foraminotomy. J Neurosurg Spine. 2007;6(1):5–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to James S. Harrop .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Harrop, J.S., Gillick, J.L. (2019). Posterior Laminoforaminotomy for Radiculopathy. In: Kaiser, M., Haid, R., Shaffrey, C., Fehlings, M. (eds) Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy and Radiculopathy . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97952-6_18

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97952-6_18

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-97951-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-97952-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics