Development and prospects of cervical laminoplasty

• Main Author: Wen-Xuan Wang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Editorial Board of Journal of Hainan Medical University 2019-03-01
• Series: Journal of Hainan Medical University
• Online Access: http://www.hnykdxxb.com/PDF/201904/18.pdf

Cervical laminoplasty surgery is an alternative to laminectomy. It can increase the space of the spinal cord available by raising the lamina, and achieve the indirect decompression effect to treat cervical spondylosis. Various techniques of laminoplasty have since been developed after two prototype techniques: Hirabayashi’s open-door laminoplasty and Kurokawa’s double-door laminoplasty. Several studies report superior biomechanical stability of the cervical spine after laminoplasty compared with laminectomy. Recent development in laminoplasty is preservation of muscle attachment, which enabled dynamic and static stabilization of the cervical spine by neck extensor muscles. After treatment with new laminoplasty techniques with active postoperative neck muscle exercises, postoperative instability, kyphosis, axial neck pain, and loss of ROM become minimal. The development，complications and future trends of cervical laminoplasty are summarized below.