부산대학교 도서관

Background: Posterior cervical foraminotomy (PCF) is an effective surgical technique for the treatment of radicular pain arising from nerve root compromise in the foramen secondary to bony stenosis or soft disc herniation. It is a minimally-invasive procedure thus evades the morbidity associated with anterior approaches. To the best of our knowledge no available literature exist addressing the effectiveness of PCF in management of recurrent radiculopathy in patients treated previously for a cervical disc disease by anterior cervical approach for discectomy and fusion. Objective: To address the efficacy of posterior cervical foraminotomy for treatment of recurrent cervical radiculopathy. Methods: We prospectively followed-up 14 patients operated through a PCF after a primary anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgery in the period from January 2009 to December 2012. Results: Our main outcome was severity of brachialgia assessed via a visual analogue scale. There was a very significant remission of the brachialgia at the early (day-1) and late (4 months) follow-up. There was also a marked improvement in outcomes of weakness and numbness in all the cases. All patients had adequate radiologic foraminotomy post-operatively. Complications were present in 5 (35.7%) cases and included 2 cases of wound infection, a case of wound hematoma, a case of transient paresis and one case of CSF leak which were managed without any sequelae. Conclusion: Posterior cervical foraminotomy is an effective surgical technique for the treatment of recurrent radiculopathy after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]