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Abstract Objective This study aimed to assess the clinical effectiveness of using intermittent titanium miniplates at C4 and C6 in conjunction with adjacent spinous process sutures for lifting and fixation during posterior cervical unilateral open-door laminoplasty. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 24 patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament who underwent this surgery. We assessed the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, visual analog scale (VAS) score, and the incidence of axial symptoms preoperatively. Additionally, we measured cervical curvature angle (CCA), range of motion (ROM), effective sagittal diameter (ESD), and the effective narrowest area (ENA) of the spinal canal both before and after surgery. All patients were followed up for a minimum of 1 year. Results At the final follow-up, significant improvements were observed in JOA scores and VAS scores compared to preoperative values. There was a significant improvement in postoperative ENA and ESD. There were no statistically significant differences in CCA and ROM at the final follow-up compared to preoperative values. Axial symptoms developed in 7 cases (29.2%, 7/24) postoperatively. Conclusions Integrating spinous process sutures with intermittent titanium miniplates not only reduces patient costs but also improves clinical outcomes in posterior unilateral open-door decompression of cervical laminae.
Zhao et al. (Fri,) studied this question.