Surgical treatment for patients with cervical flexion myelopathy

Abstract

OBJECT: Cervical flexion myelopathy is a rare condition that mainly affects adolescent boys. In recent years, avoidance of neck flexion has been advocated as the treatment for cervical flexion myelopathy, and treatment with a cervical collar and surgery in which fusion of the cervical spine is performed have been found to be effective. However, previously reported series contained only a limited number of patients. The authors report their experience with treating 10 male patients in whom surgery was performed to correct cervical flexion myelopathy, and they evaluate the patients' surgical outcome. METHODS: The authors performed anterior decompressive surgery and fusion in the cervical spine by using a long bone graft after resection of one or two vertebrae in seven patients. The other three patients underwent posterior fusion of four or five laminae. After surgery, symptom progression was stopped in all patients, muscle strength improved in seven, and sensory disturbance was alleviated in another two. However, the muscular atrophy in the upper extremities, which was evident in nine patients preoperatively, improved in only two. CONCLUSIONS: Because some neurological improvement was seen in nine of 10 patients, it is believed that surgical fusion of the cervical spine is an effective treatment for patients with cervical flexion myelopathy.