Preoperative and postoperative neuroradiologic evaluation of cervical disk disease.

For over five years, a 2.0 Tesla superconductive magnetic resonance imager (Elscint) has been available in Rockland County for neuroradiologic evaluation of cervical disk herniation, stenosis, and spondylosis. Refinement in surface coil design, software, and scanning technique seems to have overcome the problems of providing thin, artifact-free sections with high signal to noise and contrast to noise in a short amount of time. Noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging has been used routinely to preoperatively screen and to postoperatively diagnose patients with cervical radiculopathy and myelopathy. The only patients who underwent conventional myelography or computerized-tomographic myelography were extremely claustrophobic or had a contraindication to MRI such as an aneurysm clip or pacemaker.