A new surgical technique: open-window corpectomy in the treatment of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament and advanced cervical spondylosis: technical note.

OBJECTIVE

To achieve satisfactory cervical spinal cord decompression with minimal removal of bone.

METHODS

The open-window corpectomy technique is designed to remove a minimal amount of bone and achieve satisfactory decompression. With the use of a high-speed drill under a surgical microscope, only the dorsal surface of the corpus is removed after appropriate microdiscectomies. This leaves the anterior and the lateral portions of the vertebral corpus intact.

RESULTS

In a 15-month period, a total of 11 patients were treated with this technique. Five patients improved, and the remaining six patients remained the same neurologically during a mean follow-up period of 8.3 months. No complications were observed in any patients.

CONCLUSION

The open-window corpectomy provides satisfactory spinal cord decompression in a biomechanically sound manner.