Association of magnetic resonance imaging signal changes and outcome prediction after surgery for cervical spondylotic myelopathy

Abstract

Increased signal intensity on preoperative T2-weighted MR images was seen in more than 80% of the cases. However, only Type 2 ISI on T2-weighted images had a prognostic significance of being associated with a decreased likelihood of cure in patients with CSM or OPLL. Hypointensity on T1-weighted images predicted a lower probability of cure among patients with Type 2 ISI on T2-weighted images.