[Long-term outcome of surgery for myelopathy due to cervical arthrosis. 35 cases (author's transl)]

The authors report on 57 patients operated upon for myelopathy secondary to cervical arthrosis, 56 of whom underwent posterior laminectomy. The clinical symptoms were those reported in the literature for such cases. During the first post-operative year 66% of the patients improved, 5% became worse and 28% remained unchanged. Among 35 patients seen more than 5 years after the operation (mean: 8.5 years), improvement was observed in 75%, deterioration in 17% and no change in 8%. The significant difference (p < 0.02) between short-term and long-term results suggests that the disease continues to evolve, one way or the other, long after surgery. Altogether, changes occurred in 31% of the patients.