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Microendoscopic Posterior Decompression for Treating Thoracic Myelopathy Caused by Ossification of the Ligamentum Flavum: Case Series

Background and Objectives: Ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) is a relatively common cause of thoracic myelopathy. Surgical treatment is recommended for patients with myelopathy. Generally, open posterior decompression, with or without fusion, is selected to treat OLF. We performed minimall...

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Autores principales: Baba, Satoshi, Shiboi, Ryutaro, Yokosuka, Jyunichi, Oshima, Yasushi, Takano, Yuichi, Iwai, Hiroki, Inanami, Hirohiko, Koga, Hisashi
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7763969/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33321989
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicina56120684
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author Baba, Satoshi
Shiboi, Ryutaro
Yokosuka, Jyunichi
Oshima, Yasushi
Takano, Yuichi
Iwai, Hiroki
Inanami, Hirohiko
Koga, Hisashi
author_facet Baba, Satoshi
Shiboi, Ryutaro
Yokosuka, Jyunichi
Oshima, Yasushi
Takano, Yuichi
Iwai, Hiroki
Inanami, Hirohiko
Koga, Hisashi
author_sort Baba, Satoshi
collection PubMed
description Background and Objectives: Ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) is a relatively common cause of thoracic myelopathy. Surgical treatment is recommended for patients with myelopathy. Generally, open posterior decompression, with or without fusion, is selected to treat OLF. We performed minimally invasive posterior decompression using a microendoscope and investigated the efficacy of this approach in treating limited type of thoracic OLF. Materials and Methods: Microendoscopic posterior decompression was performed for 19 patients (15 men and four women) with thoracic OLF with myelopathy aged between 35 to 81 years (mean age, 61.9 years). Neurological examination and preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) were used to identify the location and morphology of OLF. The surgery was performed using a midline approach or a unilateral paramedian approach depending on whether the surgeon used a combination of a tubular retractor and endoscope. The numerical rating scale (NRS) and modified Japanese Orthopedic Association (mJOA) scores were compared pre- and postoperatively. Perioperative complications and the presence of other spine surgeries before and after thoracic OLF surgery were also investigated. Results: Four midline and 15 unilateral paramedian approaches were performed. The average operative time per level was 99 min, with minor blood loss. Nine patients had a history of cervical or lumbar spine surgery before or after thoracic spine surgery. The mean pre- and postoperative NRS scores were 6.6 and 5.3, respectively. The mean recovery rate as per the mJOA score was 33.1% (mean follow-up period, 17.8 months), the recovery rates were significantly different between patients who underwent thoracic spine surgery alone (50.5%) and patients who underwent additional spine surgeries (13.7%). Regarding adverse events, one patient experienced dural tear, another experienced postoperative hematoma, and one other underwent reoperation for adjacent thoracic stenosis. Conclusion: Microendoscopic posterior decompression was applicable in limited type of thoracic OLF surgery including beak-shaped type and multi vertebral levels. However, whole spine evaluation is important to avoid missing other combined stenoses that may affect outcomes.
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spelling pubmed-77639692020-12-27 Microendoscopic Posterior Decompression for Treating Thoracic Myelopathy Caused by Ossification of the Ligamentum Flavum: Case Series Baba, Satoshi Shiboi, Ryutaro Yokosuka, Jyunichi Oshima, Yasushi Takano, Yuichi Iwai, Hiroki Inanami, Hirohiko Koga, Hisashi Medicina (Kaunas) Article Background and Objectives: Ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) is a relatively common cause of thoracic myelopathy. Surgical treatment is recommended for patients with myelopathy. Generally, open posterior decompression, with or without fusion, is selected to treat OLF. We performed minimally invasive posterior decompression using a microendoscope and investigated the efficacy of this approach in treating limited type of thoracic OLF. Materials and Methods: Microendoscopic posterior decompression was performed for 19 patients (15 men and four women) with thoracic OLF with myelopathy aged between 35 to 81 years (mean age, 61.9 years). Neurological examination and preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) were used to identify the location and morphology of OLF. The surgery was performed using a midline approach or a unilateral paramedian approach depending on whether the surgeon used a combination of a tubular retractor and endoscope. The numerical rating scale (NRS) and modified Japanese Orthopedic Association (mJOA) scores were compared pre- and postoperatively. Perioperative complications and the presence of other spine surgeries before and after thoracic OLF surgery were also investigated. Results: Four midline and 15 unilateral paramedian approaches were performed. The average operative time per level was 99 min, with minor blood loss. Nine patients had a history of cervical or lumbar spine surgery before or after thoracic spine surgery. The mean pre- and postoperative NRS scores were 6.6 and 5.3, respectively. The mean recovery rate as per the mJOA score was 33.1% (mean follow-up period, 17.8 months), the recovery rates were significantly different between patients who underwent thoracic spine surgery alone (50.5%) and patients who underwent additional spine surgeries (13.7%). Regarding adverse events, one patient experienced dural tear, another experienced postoperative hematoma, and one other underwent reoperation for adjacent thoracic stenosis. Conclusion: Microendoscopic posterior decompression was applicable in limited type of thoracic OLF surgery including beak-shaped type and multi vertebral levels. However, whole spine evaluation is important to avoid missing other combined stenoses that may affect outcomes. MDPI 2020-12-10 /pmc/articles/PMC7763969/ /pubmed/33321989 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicina56120684 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Baba, Satoshi
Shiboi, Ryutaro
Yokosuka, Jyunichi
Oshima, Yasushi
Takano, Yuichi
Iwai, Hiroki
Inanami, Hirohiko
Koga, Hisashi
Microendoscopic Posterior Decompression for Treating Thoracic Myelopathy Caused by Ossification of the Ligamentum Flavum: Case Series
title Microendoscopic Posterior Decompression for Treating Thoracic Myelopathy Caused by Ossification of the Ligamentum Flavum: Case Series
title_full Microendoscopic Posterior Decompression for Treating Thoracic Myelopathy Caused by Ossification of the Ligamentum Flavum: Case Series
title_fullStr Microendoscopic Posterior Decompression for Treating Thoracic Myelopathy Caused by Ossification of the Ligamentum Flavum: Case Series
title_full_unstemmed Microendoscopic Posterior Decompression for Treating Thoracic Myelopathy Caused by Ossification of the Ligamentum Flavum: Case Series
title_short Microendoscopic Posterior Decompression for Treating Thoracic Myelopathy Caused by Ossification of the Ligamentum Flavum: Case Series
title_sort microendoscopic posterior decompression for treating thoracic myelopathy caused by ossification of the ligamentum flavum: case series
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7763969/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33321989
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/medicina56120684
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