Cervical myelopathy due to spondylosis. Case report

The authors report the case of a patient with cervical myelopathy who was examined at autopsy 2 years after a second anterior cervical fusion by Cloward's technique. The clinical course and pre- and postoperative myelograms are presented. Theories as to the etiology of myelopathy are discussed. This case demonstrates chronic changes that seem to implicate a vascular theory but not the specific vessel or vessels. The mechanism of improvement following the Cloward procedure is not explained by the pathological slides.