Multilevel decompressive laminectomy and transpedicular instrumented fusion for cervical spondylotic radiculopathy and myelopathy: A minimum follow-up of 3 years.

Objective: Cervical laminectomies with transpedicular insertion technique is known to be a biomechanically stronger method in cervical pathologies. However, its frequency of use is low in the routine practice, as the pedicle is thin and risk of neurovascular damage is high. In this study, we emphasize the results of cervical laminectomies with transpedicular fixation using fluoroscopy in degenerative cervical spine disorder.

Materials And Methods: Postoperative malposition of the transpedicular screws of the 70 pedicles of the 10 patients we operated due to degenerative stenosis in the cervical region, were investigated. Fixation was performed between C3 and C7, and we used resected lamina bone chips for fusion. Clinical indicators included age, gender, neurologic status, surgical indication, and number of levels stabilized. Dominant vertebral artery of all the patients was evaluated with Doppler ultrasonography. Preoperative and postoperative Nurick grade of each patient was documented.

Results: No patients experienced neurovascular injury as a result of pedicle screw placement. Two patients had screw malposition, which did not require reoperation due to minor breaking. Most patients had 32-mm screws placed. Postoperative computed tomography scanning showed no compromise of the foramen transversarium. A total of 70 pedicle screws were placed. Good bony fusion was observed in all patients. At follow-up, 9/10 (90%) patients had improved in their Nurick grades. The cases were followed-up for an average of 35.7 months (30-37 months).

Conclusions: Use of the cervical pedicular fixation (CPF) provides a very strong three-column stabilization but also carries vascular injury without nerve damage. Laminectomies technique may reduce the risk of malposition due to visualization of the spinal canal. CPF can be performed in a one-stage posterior procedure. This technique yielded good fusion rate without complications and can be considered as a good alternative compared other techniques.