Postmortem findings in a woman with history of laminoplasty for severe cervical spondylotic myelopathy

Abstract

CONTEXT: We report the autopsy of a 65-year-old woman who underwent a C3-C7 laminoplasty 4 years after the diagnosis of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). Her sensory disturbance, spasticity, and vesicorectal disturbance, which corresponded to long tract sign, had improved after surgery. FINDINGS: Cross sections at the C4-C5 level showed a triangular shape because of atrophied ventral gray matter. Moreover, despite the scarce glial scar formation around the cystic cavity, regeneration of gray matter had not occurred. In the white matter, the posterior and lateral funiculi were shrunken including three to four segments. CONCLUSION: Pathological change of white matter did not coincide with relief of clinical symptoms in this case. These findings indicate that it may be better to operate earlier in cases of CSM, because delay may lead to irreversible histological change.