Effects of two posterior procedures for treatment of cervical hyperextension injury with multilevel spinal stenosis: A retrospective study.

BACKGROUND

Cervical hyperextension injuries (CHI), commonly resulting in central cord syndrome and spinal instability, often affect the elderly with preexisting degenerative spinal changes, leading to a need for surgical interventions that address both the compression and stability of the cervical spine. This study compares the clinical outcomes of two posterior decompression and fixation procedures for treating cervical hyperextension injury in patients with preexisting multilevel spinal canal stenosis.

METHODS

Patients suffering from cervical hyperextension injury combined with multilevel spinal stenosis were divided into two groups. They received laminoplasty combined with selective unilateral pedicle screw fixation or laminectomy combined with bilateral lateral mass screw fixation. The clinical records including demographic data, operation time, length of hospital stay, estimated blood loss and surgical complications were collected, and clinical outcomes were evaluated using the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment scale. Preoperative and postoperative cervical lordosis were measured.

RESULTS

Postoperative AISA scores were significantly increased compared with that before surgery in both groups, there was no significant differences between groups. The intraoperative blood loss in the laminoplasty group was significantly less than that in the laminectomy group and there were no significant differences in operation time and length of hospital stay between the two groups. No significant difference was found in the incidence of overall surgical complications between the two groups. There was no significant difference in the cervical lordosis after surgery compared with that before surgery in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

For patients suffering from cervical hyperextension injury combined with preexisting multilevel spinal stenosis, both cervical laminoplasty with selective unilateral pedicle screw fixation and laminectomy with bilateral lateral mass screw fixation could achieve satisfactory clinical outcomes.