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Background Context: It remains unclear whether cervical laminoplasty (LP) offers advantages over cervical laminectomy and fusion (LF) in patients undergoing posterior decompression for degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM).Purpose: The objective of this study is to compare outcomes of LP and LF.Study Design/setting: This is a multicenter international prospective cohort study.Patient Sample: A total of 266 surgically treated symptomatic DCM patients undergoing cervical decompression using LP (N=100) or LF (N=166) were included.Outcome Measures: The outcome measures were the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association score (mJOA), Nurick grade, Neck Disability Index (NDI), Short-Form 36v2 (SF36v2), length of hospital stay, length of stay in the intensive care unit, treatment complications, and reoperations.Methods: Differences in outcomes between the LP and LF groups were analyzed by analysis of variance and analysis of covariance. The dependent variable in all analyses was the change score between baseline and 24-month follow-up, and the independent variable was surgical procedure (LP or LF). In the analysis of covariance, outcomes were compared between cohorts while adjusting for gender, age, smoking, number of operative levels, duration of symptoms, geographic region, and baseline scores.Results: There were no differences in age, gender, smoking status, number of operated levels, and baseline Nurick, NDI, and SF36v2 scores between the LP and LF groups. Preoperative mJOA was lower in the LP compared with the LF group (11.52±2.77 and 12.30±2.85, respectively, p=.0297). Patients in both groups showed significant improvements in mJOA, Nurick grade, NDI, and SF36v2 physical and mental health component scores 24 months after surgery (p<.0001). At 24 months, mJOA scores improved by 3.49 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.84, 4.13) in the LP group compared with 2.39 (95% CI: 1.91, 2.86) in the LF group (p=.0069). Nurick grades improved by 1.57 (95% CI: 1.23, 1.90) in the LP group and 1.18 (95% CI: 0.92, 1.44) in the LF group (p=.0770). There were no differences between the groups with respect to NDI and SF36v2 outcomes. After adjustment for preoperative characteristics, surgical factors and geographic region, the differences in mJOA between surgical groups were no longer significant. The rate of treatment-related complications in the LF group was 28.31% compared with 21.00% in the LP group (p=.1079).Conclusions: Both LP and LF are effective at improving clinical disease severity, functional status, and quality of life in patients with DCM. In an unadjusted analysis, patients treated with LP achieved greater improvements on the mJOA at 24-month follow-up than those who received LF; however, these differences were insignificant following adjustment for relevant confounders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is an all-encompassing term that includes cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM), ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL), and other spinal abnormalities that cause cervical cord compression. It is unclear whether surgery is equally effective and safe for patients with OPLL as it is for those with other forms of DCM. The purpose of this study was to compare surgical outcomes of patients with OPLL and those with other forms of DCM.Methods: Four hundred and seventy-nine patients with symptomatic DCM were prospectively enrolled in the CSM-International study at sixteen sites. Patients' functional status was evaluated using the modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association scale (mJOA) and the Nurick score. Quality of life was assessed using patient-reported outcome measures, including the Neck Disability Index (NDI) and the Short Form (SF)-36. Postoperative functional and quality-of-life outcomes were assessed at two years of follow-up, and scores were compared between patients with and without OPLL.Results: Of 479 patients, 135 (28.2%) had radiographic evidence of OPLL, and 344 (71.8%) had other forms of DCM. The two groups did not differ significantly in demographics, surgical approach, or baseline myelopathy severity. Patients with OPLL achieved similar functional outcomes by two years following surgery compared with patients with other forms of DCM. With respect to quality of life, the NDI and most of the subscales of the SF-36 were not different between the two diagnostic groups. There was a higher risk of perioperative complications in the OPLL group (p = 0.054), although this relationship did not reach statistical significance. Rates of neurological complications did not differ significantly between diagnostic groups.Conclusions: Surgical decompression for the treatment of OPLL resulted in improvements in functional status and quality of life comparable to those seen in patients with other forms of DCM. Patients with OPLL were at a higher risk of perioperative complications than patients with other forms of DCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]