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Joint Diseases and
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Original Article · Open access

Unilateral open-door laminoplasty alone with and without foraminoplasty for the treatment of mixed cervical spondylosis

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Yong-an Ren

Department of Orthopaedics, Xi Chang People’s Hospital, Xichang, China

ORCID: 0009-0001-5668-3950

Yin-xiao Peng

Department of Orthopaedics, The Third People’s Hospital of Chengdu, Chengdu, China

ORCID: 0009-0005-4175-7696

Cong-jun Ding

Department of Orthopaedics, Xi Chang People’s Hospital, Xichang, China

ORCID: 0009-0009-8371-2428

Ying Yang

Department of Orthopaedics, Xi Chang People’s Hospital, Xichang, China

ORCID: 0009-0003-7205-0349

Rong-hui Tang

Department of Orthopaedics, Xi Chang People’s Hospital, Xichang, China

ORCID: 0009-0005-2182-1435

Ya-li Kang

Department of Orthopaedics, Xi Chang People’s Hospital, Xichang, China

ORCID: 0009-0006-4360-3102

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to compare the clinical outcomes of unilateral open-door laminoplasty with adjunctive foraminoplasty in the management of mixed cervical spondylosis.

Patients and methods: Between January 2016 and January 2024, a total of 60 patients (36 males, 24 females; mean age: 71.8 ± 9.9 years; range, 52 to 92 years) who were diagnosed with mixed cervical spondylosis and underwent unilateral open-door laminoplasty were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups: Group A (n = 30) received laminoplasty alone and Group B (n = 30) underwent laminoplasty combined with foraminoplasty. Demographic data, perioperative outcomes, clinical efficacy, and complication rates were compared between the two groups.

Results: Group A showed significantly shorter operative time and reduced intraoperative blood loss compared to Group B (p < 0.001). Both groups exhibited significant improvements over time in Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores for neck and upper limb pain (p < 0.05) and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores (p < 0.05). At the final follow-up, Group B demonstrated superior JOA scores and lower VAS scores for both neck and upper limb pain relative to Group A (p < 0.05). The incidence of postoperative C5 nerve root palsy and persistent upper limb radicular pain was significantly higher in Group A than in Group B (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: For patients with mixed cervical spondylosis, combining unilateral open-door laminoplasty with foraminoplasty provides effective concurrent decompression of the spinal cord and nerve roots, resulting in a significant symptomatic improvement in both myelopathic and radicular manifestations with a reduced risk of certain postoperative neurological complications.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

Declarations

Author Contributions

Y.A.R., Y.X.P.: Conception and design; Y.Y., R.H.T., Y.L.K.: Collection and assembly of data; Y.A.R., Y.X.P., C.J.D.: Analysis and interpretation of the data; Y.A.R., Y.X.P.: Drafting of the article; C.J.D.: Statistical expertise; Y.A.R.: Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Financial Disclosure

The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.

Data Sharing Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

AI Disclosure

The authors declare that artificial intelligence (AI) tools were not used, or were used solely for language editing, and had no role in data analysis, interpretation, or the formulation of conclusions. All scientific content, data interpretation, and conclusions are the sole responsibility of the authors. The authors further confirm that AI tools were not used to generate, fabricate, or ‘hallucinate’ references, and that all references have been carefully verified for accuracy.

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