Y. Saruhashi et al., A long-term follow-up study of cervical spondylotic myelopathy treated by "French window" laminoplasty, J SPINAL D, 12(2), 1999, pp. 99-101
We investigated 30 patients with multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy
(22 males and 8 females) treated by "French window" laminoplasties from 19
79 to 1988. Patients averaged 62.6 years of age, and were followed an avera
ge of 5 years and 2 months. The average preoperative and postoperative Japa
nese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores were assessed, rising from the or
iginal 8.8 +/- 3.3 to 11.9 +/- 3.3 (p < 0.001). Patients were divided into
two groups, demonstrating poor alignment and no malalignment after surgery.
There was no statistical difference regarding improvement in the neurologi
cal examinations between these two groups. The "French window" laminoplasty
achieved good clinical results in the management of cervical spondylotic m
yelopathy irrespective of whether or not alignment deteriorated in the post
operative period.