Expanding laminoplasty for cervical myelopathy-spinous process roofing technique.

We have carried out expanding laminoplasty using spinous process roofing technique for patients presenting with cervical myelopathy. The technique is a modified Kurokawa's method. The result shows that laminoplasty with this technique provides better postoperative neck movement with a simpler surgical procedure. The clinical material consists of 54 cases with more than 3 years follow-up. Long-term investigation was performed focusing on the following three points, (1) bony fusion rates, (2) radiographic neck movement, (3) neurological improvement. The results indicate good postoperative bony fusion in all cases. Postoperative neck movement was also well preserved in the majority of cases.