Sagittal Balance Correction in Cervical Compressive Myelopathy: Is it Helpful?

• Published in: Neurology India 2021-09, Vol.69 (5), p.1222-1227
• Main Authors: Panigrahi, Manas, Patel, Chirag, Chandrasekhar M, Y B, Vooturi, Sudhindra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Care and treatment; Laminectomy; Methods; Nervous system; Patient outcomes; Spinal cord compression; Surgery
• ISSN: 0028-3886; 1998-4022
• DOI: 10.4103/0028-3886.329595

Background: Laminectomy with lateral mass and transfacet fixation are widely accepted surgical techniques for cervical compressive myelopathy (CCM). Objective: To evaluate multilevel fixation with additional fixation of C7-T1 transfacet junction may help achieve better surgical outcome both in short- and long-term follow-up. Material and Methods: Based on utilizing C7-T1 transfacet junction fixation, 102 consecutive patients undergoing surgery for CCM were divided into Group A: cervical laminectomy with lateral mass fixation only, and Group B: cervical laminectomy and lateral mass fixation including C7-T1 transfacet junction in fixation. The groups were compared for at 3 months and 2 years postsurgery for persistence of preoperative symptoms, neurological outcome, and sagittal balance (T1 slope) of cervical spine. Results: The average age of the study population was 59.11 ± 12.05 years with 71 (69.6%) men. There were no significant differences between the groups neither for presenting complaints nor for postoperative complications. Patients in group B had lesser length of postsurgical hospital stay (7.57 ± 6.61 vs 5.55 ± 1.81; P = 0.018). At 3 months follow-up, patients in group B had higher motor power of upper limb (3.64 ± 1.91 vs 4.47 ± 0.57; P < 0.001), lower limbs (5.07 ± 1.72 vs 5.92 ± 1.13; P = 0.005), and total modified Japanese orthopedic association score (MJOS) score (13.68 ± 3.42 vs 15.51 ± 1.87; P = 0.001). Patients in groups B had lower postoperative T1 slope scores (26.93 ± 8.73 vs 17.60 ± 4.97; P =