Operative Techniques for Cervical Radiculopathy and Myelopathy

The surgical treatment of cervical spondylosis and resulting cervical radiculopathy or myelopathy has evolved over the past century. Surgical options for dorsal decompression of the cervical spine includes the traditional laminectomy and laminoplasty, first described in Asia in the 1970's. More recently the dorsal approch has been explored in terms of minimally invasive options including foraminotomies for nerve root descompression. Ventral decompression and fusion techniques are also described in the article, including traditional anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, strut grafting and cervical disc arthroplasty. Overall, the outcome from surgery is determined by choosing the correct surgery for the correct patient and pathology and this is what we hope to explain in this brief review. 1. Introduction Cervical spondylosis is a common pathology, and the surgical treatment of the resulting radiculopathy, myelopathy, or myeloradiculopathy has evolved over the past century. The basic aim of all techniques is to decompress the affected neural structure. Advances in fixation techniques [1–3] and motion-preserving options [4–7] are more recent elements of this evolution. Once the decision is made to manage the patient operatively the principal decision is whether to choose the ventral or the dorsal approach. In cervical spondylosis several variables including the location of pathology (ventral, dorsal, circumferential); extent of pathology (limited to interspace, extensive behind vertebral body); the number of levels affected; the presence of instability or the presence of kyphotic deformity require consideration. In general, any procedure chosen should decompress the affected spinal cord or nerve roots, maintain or restore stability, and correct or prevent kyphotic deformity. 2. Dorsal Decompression A range of posterior surgical procedures exist, including laminectomy, laminoplasty, and laminectomy with posterior fusion. Until the 1960’s the traditional way to decompress the cervical spine in spondylotic patients was via a dorsal approach and a decompressive laminectomy. This surgery effectively enlarges the spinal canal area, allowing the spinal canal to drift away from ventral compression, however, while doing this it also destabilizes the dorsal structures and can lead to progressive kyphotic deformity. 3. Laminectomy A high speed drill is used to create a gutter, through the outer cortical bone and cancellous bone to the thin inner cortical bone at the junction of the lamina and the medial aspect of the lateral mass. Using a 1？mm Kerrison rongeur the