PREOPERATIVE AND POSTOPERATIVE NEURORADIOLOGIC EVALUATION OF CERVICALDISK DISEASE

For over five years, a 2.0 Tesla superconductive magnetic resonance im ager (Elscint) has been available in Rockland County for neuroradiolog ic evaluation of cervical disk herniation, stenosis, and spondylosis. Refinement in surface coil design, software, and scanning technique se ems to have overcome the problems of providing thin, artifact-free sec tions with high signal to noise and contrast to noise in a short amoun t of time. Noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging has been used routin ely to preoperatively screen and to postoperatively diagnose patients with cervical radiculopathy and myelopathy. The only patients who unde rwent conventional myelography or computerized-tomographic myelography were extremely claustrophobic or had a contraindication to MRI such a s an aneurysm clip or pacemaker.