Outcomes of Secondary Laminoplasty for Patients with Unsatisfactory Results after Anterior Multilevel Cervical Surgery

Objective To investigate the causes for failed anterior cervical surgery and the outcomes of secondary laminoplasty. Methods Seventeen patients failed anterior multilevel cervical surgery and the following conservative treatments between Feb 2003 and May 2011 underwent secondary laminoplasty. Outcomes were evaluated by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) Scale and visual analogue scale (VAS) before the secondary surgery, at 1 week, 2 months, 6 months, and the final visit. Cervical alignment, causes for revision and complications were also assessed. Results With a mean follow-up of 29.7±12.1 months, JOA score, recovery rate and excellent to good rate improved significantly at 2 months (p<0.05) and maintained thereafter (p>0.05). Mean VAS score decreased postoperatively (p<0.05). Lordotic angle maintained during the entire follow up (p>0.05). The causes for secondary surgery were inappropriate approach in 3 patients, insufficient decompression in 4 patients, adjacent degeneration in 2 patients, and disease progression in 8 patients. Complications included one case of C5 palsy, axial pain and cerebrospinal fluid leakage, respectively. Conclusion Laminoplasty has satisfactory results in failed multilevel anterior surgery, with a low incidence of complications. Key Words: Cervical spondylosis · Anterior discectomy and fusion · Anterior corpectomy and fusion · Laminoplasty.