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Effective cervical decompression by the posterior cervical foraminotomy without discectomy
Min-Soo Kang1, Kyung-Chul Choi, Choon-Dae Lee
1*Department of Neurosurgery, Daegu Wooridul Spine Hospital, Daegu †Department of Neurosurgery, Wooridul Spine Hospital ‡Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul Gimpo Airport Wooridul Spine Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques
|July 31, 2013
Summary
Posterior cervical foraminotomy (PCF) with or without discectomy effectively treats cervical disk herniation. Both techniques show similar clinical outcomes and high success rates, despite surgical challenges.
Area of Science:
- Neurosurgery
- Spinal Surgery
- Orthopedics
Background:
- Posterior cervical foraminotomy (PCF) is a recognized treatment for cervical disk herniation.
- PCF offers advantages like avoiding fusion but presents challenges such as a narrow operative field and bleeding.
- These limitations can complicate disk material removal during PCF.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of PCF with discectomy versus PCF alone for cervical disk herniation.
- To evaluate clinical outcomes, neurological status, and patient satisfaction between the two surgical approaches.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective review of 135 patients with cervical disk herniation treated with PCF.
- Patients were divided into two groups: PCF with discectomy (117 patients) and PCF alone (18 patients).
- Comparison of clinical data, neurological status, radiologic findings, and outcomes over a mean follow-up of 36.1 months.
Main Results:
- Both groups demonstrated similar improvements in pain (VAS) and disability (ODI) scores.
- Success rates were high in both groups: 90.6% for PCF with discectomy and 88.8% for PCF alone.
- Factors like disk softness, type, and level (e.g., C4-5) influenced removal difficulty and the extent of foraminotomy.
Conclusions:
- PCF, with or without discectomy, is an effective treatment for cervical disk herniation.
- The procedure yields comparable clinical outcomes despite surgical and anatomical limitations.
- The choice between PCF with or without discectomy may depend on specific patient factors and intraoperative findings.