Long-term clinical results of microsurgical transdural discectomy with laminoplasty: follow-up results over 10 years.

OBJECT: In this retrospective analysis the authors describe the long-term clinical results of microsurgical transdural discectomy with laminoplasty (MTDL) in patients with cervical disc herniation (CDH).

METHODS: Thirty patients (21 males, 9 females; mean age at surgery 55 years) with CDH had surgical treatments consisting of MTDL between 1990 and 1998. All patients demonstrated signs or symptoms of cervical myelopathy and/or radiculomyelopathy. Clinical outcomes were evaluated by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scoring system and by recovery rate (RR). The degenerative grades of the intervertebral discs were also evaluated based on preoperative, postoperative, and final follow-up MR images. The average follow-up period was 14.1 years (range 10-22 years).

RESULTS: Twenty (67%) of the 30 patients completed the follow-up in this study. The preoperative JOA scores in these patients averaged 11.8, and the postoperative scores at the final follow-up averaged 15.5 (average RR 69.6%). None of these patients required reoperation after MTDL. Although disc degeneration progressed during the follow-up period, there were no cases of clinical deterioration, recurrence of disc herniation, or postoperative kyphotic deformity.

CONCLUSIONS: Sufficient clinical results were obtained after the MTDL for a long-term follow-up period exceeding 10 years. The MTDL may be an option for an alternative procedure if the patients are correctly selected and the procedure is safely performed.