OSSIFICATION OF THE POSTERIOR CERVICAL LONGITUDINAL LIGAMENT

Forty patients with cervical myelopathy due to OPLL (Ossification of t he Posterior Longitudinal Ligament) of the cervical spine were studied . According to Abe's or Yamamoto's classification, 12 of them had a 50 % decrease in the cross-sectional area of the spinal canal. Subtotal v ertebrectomy was carried out in 8 of these patients and the remaining 4 patients received posterior decompression. We concluded that anterio r decompression, if possible, is the treatment of choice and posterior decompression is recommended only for the longitudinal type involving more than 3 segments.