Double-door cervical laminoplasty with the use of suture anchors: technical note

Technical note.

To introduce a new simple technique using suture anchors to stabilize the elevated laminae in double-door cervical laminoplasty.

Double-door cervical laminoplasty is a well-recognized procedure for the treatment of cervical spinal myelopathy. One of its complications is lamina reclosure that may cause restenosis of the spinal canal. The use of suture anchors for expansive open-door laminoplasty has previously been reported, but no study has ever been made of the use of suture anchors for double-door laminoplasty.

The authors retrospectively reviewed 182 consecutive patients who had undergone double-door cervical laminoplasty using suture anchors. Data were available for 145 of the 182 patients over a minimum 12-week follow-up. These included 95 men and 50 women, and the mean age was 62 years (range, 33 to 92 y). The average follow-up period was 91 weeks (range, 12 to 313 wk). The data were analyzed for the displacement of the suture anchors, lamina reclosure, and dural expansion.

No displacement of the suture anchors was observed during the follow-up period, which was confirmed with serial radiographs. Fifty-six patients underwent postoperative computed tomography more than 3 months after surgery. Lamina reclosure that was evaluated with computed tomography, was observed in 4 patients, but no spinal cord compression by the closed laminae was observed. Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 103 patients, which revealed adequate dural expansion in all of them. There were no suture-anchor-related complications.

Double-door cervical laminoplasty with suture anchors is a technically easy and safe procedure that provides secure placement of the split laminae.