Perioperative complications of anterior decompression with fusion versus laminoplasty for the treatment of cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament: propensity score matching analysis using a nation-wide inpatient database.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Surgical treatment of cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) has a high risk of various complications. Anterior decompression with fusion (ADF) and laminoplasty (LAMP) are the most representative surgical procedures. However, few studies have compared the two procedures in terms of perioperative surgical complications.

PURPOSE: To compare the perioperative complications post-ADF and LAMP for cervical OPLL using a large national inpatient database.

STUDY

DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study with propensity score matching analysis.

PATIENT SAMPLE: Overall, 8,718 (ADF/LAMP:1,333/7,485) patients who underwent surgery for cervical OPLL from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2016 in hospitals using the diagnosis procedure combination were analyzed.

OUTCOME MEASURES: The occurrence of postoperative complications during hospitalization.

METHODS

We compared the perioperative systemic and local complications, reoperation rates, and costs between ADF and LAMP using propensity score matching analysis.

RESULTS

One-to-one matching resulted in 1,192 pairs of patients who underwent ADF and LAMP. The postoperative cardiovascular event rate was significantly higher (ADF/LAMP=1.9/0.8%, p=.013) in the ADF group. The incidence rates of dysphagia (similarly, 2.4/0.2%, p<.001), pneumonia (1.0/0.3%, p=.045), and spinal fluid leakage (2.4/0.4%, p<.001) were also higher in the ADF group, even after matching. The costs were also higher in the ADF group. However, surgical site infection (2.0/3.4%, p=.033) was significantly lower in the ADF group. No significant difference in the reoperation rates was found between the groups.

CONCLUSION

The present study, using a large nationwide database, demonstrated that perioperative complications were more common in the ADF group, but that surgical site infection (SSI) was more frequently observed in the LAMP group.