title: New titanium spacer for cervical laminoplasty: initial clinical experience. Technical note.
abstract: Many commercially available hydroxyapatite (HA) spacers for cervical laminoplasty have been introduced but have disadvantages such as lack of plasticity, easy cracking, and occasional difficulty in fixation by sutures. Here we present the short-term results of a newly designed titanium spacer (Laminoplasty Basket) in open-door cervical laminoplasty, and evaluated clinically and radiologically. The titanium box-shaped spacer with two arms for fixation was easily inserted and fixed into the laminoplasty space with 4-mm or 5-mm length screws after the posterior cervical arch was repositioned for the canal expansion. Twenty-one patients with cervical myelopathy due to spondylosis or ossification of the longitudinal ligament or developmental narrow canal observed for more than 6 months postoperatively were enrolled in this study. The neurological condition of these patients improved from 9.4 points on the Japanese Orthopaedic Association scale preoperatively to 13.5 points at 6 months after surgery. Postoperative radiological evaluation showed no laminar closure or implant failure and cervical spine curvature was maintained. These results seemed to have no significant difference compared with those using HA spacers. This titanium spacer is a potential substitute for conventional HA or other similar devices in cervical laminoplasty.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tani
authors.forename: Futoshi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Suetsua
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mizuno
authors.forename: Hisaaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Uchikado
authors.forename: Hiroyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagashima
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akiyama
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Isoshima
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohashi
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abe
mesh_terms: D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D019299:Decompression, Surgical / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000601:surgery*; D007796:Laminectomy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D014025:Titanium; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D014025:Titanium