Anterior cervical corpectomy for cervical spondylotic myelopathy: experience and surgical results in a series of 70 consecutive patients.

Recently the debate over the management of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) has regained interest; more specifically whether treatment should be operative versus non-operative, raising the question about the real effectiveness of surgery in influencing the natural history of this pathology and about the choice of the most appropriate approach (anterior vs. posterior). The authors report a retrospective review of 70 consecutive patients who underwent elective anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion with iliac crest autograft or titanium mesh and placement of an anterior cervical plate for the treatment of CSM. The patients underwent pre-and postoperative evaluation, including history, and physical and neurological examination. Patients were also evaluated pre-and postoperatively using a modified version of the Japanese Orthopedics Association Scale (mJOA), which provides a fine semi-quantitative graded evaluation of overall function. Upon discharge home, patients were followed for an average of 42 months (range, 12-63 months). Following an anterior cervical decompression of the spinal cord, 94.2% of patients improved their functional status and 5.8% were unchanged; the mean preoperative mJOA score of all patients was 12.2, the postoperative was 15.4 and the amelioration was also documented by neurophysiological studies which showed an increase in amplitude and decrease in latency of somatosensory evoked potentials and motor evoked potential in 47 patients (67%). Older age and longer duration of preoperative symptoms both were not associated with a lower postoperative mJOA score (p < 0.47, p < 0.29, respectively). Single versus multiple level decompression was not predictive of a lower postoperative mJOA score (p < 0.18). Preoperative spinal cord low signal intensity changes on T1-weighted MRI were related to a lower postoperative mJOA score (p < 0.05), whereas spinal cord high-signal intensity changes on T2-weighted MRI were related to a higher postoperative mJOA score (p < 0.01); finally a lower preoperative mJOA score was highly predictive of a lower postoperative mJOA score (p < 0.0005). Anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion for CSM appears to be an effective procedure with a more favorable neurological improvement when compared to posterior decompressive laminectomy, minimally invasive procedures or non-surgical treatment. It is also a safe procedure even in the elderly population, with low morbidity and the potential for permanent spinal cord decompression and excellent bone stability.