Cervical myelopathy treated by canal-expansive laminaplasty. Computed tomographic and myelographic findings

The operation known as canal-expansive laminaplasty has the following advantages over wide laminectomy: (1) osseous protection of the spinal cord is retained, (2) the invasion of the cord by scar tissue is minimized, and (3) the stability of the spine is retained. We are reporting the clinical, computed tomographic, and computed myelographic findings before and after this operation in twenty-four patients with cervical myelopathy due to cervical spondylosis, spinal stenosis, or ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. The clinical results were excellent in four patients, good in eighteen, and fair in two. Symmetrical expansion of the spinal canal was clearly demonstrated by computed tomograms, and the metrizamide ring on the myelograms had a normal rounded curvature.