Occipitocervical Stabilization for Myelopathy in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Implications of Not Bone-Grafting

• Published in: Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume 2000-03, Vol.82 (3), p.349-65
• Main Authors: MOSKOVICH, RONALD, CROCKARD, H ALAN, SHOTT, SUSAN, RANSFORD, ANDREW O
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - surgery; Atlanto-Occipital Joint - surgery; Biological and medical sciences; Bone Transplantation; Child; Humans; Joint Instability - surgery; Longitudinal Studies; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Orthopedic surgery; Pain Measurement; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 0021-9355; 1535-1386
• DOI: 10.2106/00004623-200003000-00006

Approximately 0.9 percent of the white adult population of the United States and 1.1 percent of the adult population in Europe are affected by seropositive rheumatoid arthritis. As many as 10 percent of those patients may need an operation for atlantoaxial subluxation. Severe instability, especially when associated with vertical subluxation of the odontoid process, can result in progressive cervical myelopathy. Typically, occipitocervical fixation has been performed for these patients with use of autograft bone to achieve long-term stability through a solid fusion. Harvesting the bone graft increases the operative risk to the patient and may result in increased morbidity. In our experience, patients who have had no clear radiographic evidence of fusion following use of occipitocervical instrumentation seemed to have done as well as those who have had obvious fusion. One assumption is that the clinical improvement might be attributable simply to stabilization of the joint rather than to osseous fusion. A longitudinal study was performed on patients with rheumatoid arthritis who required an operation because of craniocervical or upper cervical instability. The results of clinical, radiographic, functional, and self-evaluations were studied to determine the efficacy of treatment and to compare the outcomes of bone-grafting with those of procedures done without bone-grafting in a group of 150 patients who underwent posterior occipitocervical stabilization with use of a contoured metal implant (a Ransford loop) that was affixed by sublaminar wires. Internal fixation was performed in 120 patients without bone-grafting and in thirty patients with use of autogenous bone-grafting. Preoperatively, 23 percent (thirty-five) of the 150 patients had mild neurological involvement (class II, according to the system of Ranawat et al.), 45 percent (sixty-eight) had objective findings of weakness and long-tract signs but were able to walk (class III-A), and 29 percent (forty-three) were quadriparetic and unable to walk (class III-B). The age of the patients at the time of the operation ranged from twelve to eighty-three years (mean, sixty-two years). There were significant improvements in postoperative Ranawat classes at all time-periods (range, p < 0.00005 to p = 0.0066) and in patient ratings of neck pain (range, p < 0.00005 to p = 0.0044) compared with preoperative scores. With the numbers available, there were no significant differences between the patients managed with