The clinical results of the cervical laminectomy.

Degenerative changes of the cervical spine often result in clinical symptoms, like for instance neurological deficits, because these degenerative changes result in compression of the spinal cord. In earlier years, a wait-and-see policy was generally advocated. If eventually a decompression was inevitable the posterior approach was chosen. In the eighties an anterior approach became more popular, even for a decompression of more than one level. However, an anterior discectomy of more levels implies at least one corporectomy and thus a surgical procedure including a spondylodesis. This leads to loss of mobility of the cervical spine. Moreover, the patient wears a stiff collar for several months, which many patients consider uncomfortable. Finally, the risk of dysphagia and dysphonia is considerable in anterior decompressive surgical procedures involving corporectomies.

In daily practice, satisfying results are accomplished using the posterior approach to decompress the cervical spinal cord. In current publications though, this approach is considered to be outdated, since it would lead to kyphosis and instability of the cervical spine. This would ultimately lead to new or recurrent clinical symptoms of spinal cord compression.

It is however insufficiently examined whether a cervical laminectomy indeed results in kyphosis and instability and it was never investigated whether and to which extent kyphosis and/or instability cause clinical symptoms. Therefore a study that studies these aspects is deemed necessary.

Failing in the functionality of patients, who underwent a cervical laminectomy, isn't relate to kyphosis of the cervical spine.

The patient wil come to the hospital only for one time.

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