Cervical foraminotomy: an effective treatment for cervical spondylotic radiculopathy

Between 1983 and 1994, posterior cervical foraminotomy as described by Fryk holm was performed on 89 patients with exclusively radicular symptoms cause d by cervical osteophytes. The main presenting feature was arm pain. Object ive neurological signs were present in 50% of the patients. At mean postope rative follow-up of 8.6 months, 95.5% of patients reported excellent or goo d results, while 4.5% were not improved. No patient was rendered worse foll owing the procedure. There were no deaths and the complication rate was 2.2 %. Further surgery for recurrent root symptoms was required by 6.7% of pati ents. Our findings are in keeping with the good results and low complicatio n rate of this procedure as described in other studies. Informal inquiries suggest that this procedure is not widely used, at any rate in the United K ingdom, and we present this series in order to emphasize the efficacy and s afety of this procedure.