Effect of Ventral vs Dorsal Spinal Surgery in Patients With Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy —Reply

In Reply We agree with Dr Inose and colleagues that fusion is not always necessary after a dorsal decompression for cervical myelopathy. To clarify, in our study, we excluded patients with C2 to C7 kyphosis greater than 5 ° measured using a standing cervical radiograph with the patient in extension. We did not report the length of operative time or estimated blood loss during these surgeries, but we plan to include these data in a future study focusing on differences in cost between the ventral and dorsal cervical s pinal operations. A study site coordinator (blinded to patient randomized group) evaluated each patient for problems with swallowing 30 days and 1 year after surgery.
Source: JAMA - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research