Minimally invasive cervical laminoforaminotomy - Technique and outcomes

Cervical radiculopathy is a common pathological entity encountered by spine surgeons. Many surgical options have been described including anterior cervical discectomy with or without fusion to arthroplasty and posterior cervical laminoforaminotomy. Being a motion-preserving procedure, posterior cervical laminoforaminotomy is an excellent treatment for patients with unilateral radiculopathy secondary to a laterally located herniated disc or foraminal stenosis. With the advent of minimally invasive techniques, this procedure has regained popularity.

Although there is enough evidence in the literature highlighting the benefits, safety, and efficacy of minimally invasive versus conventional techniques, a detailed technical report along with long-term surgical outcomes is lacking.

The authors present their experience in minimally invasive cervical laminoforaminotomy (MIS-CLF) over a 7-year period (2013-2020) along with a technical note. Clinical evaluation was performed both before and after surgery, using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain scores. Patient functional outcome was measured using the modified Odom's criteria.

There were no major perioperative complications. No patient required surgery for the same level during the follow-up period which ranged from 1 to 3 years. Statistically significant results were obtained in all cases, reflected by an improvement in VAS for neck/arm pain.

MIS-CLF is an effective technique for treatment of radiculopathy due to cervical disc herniation in a carefully selected subgroup of patients with good medium- to long-term outcomes. A larger study would possibly highlight the effectiveness of this procedure.