title: Anterior approach for complex cervical spondylotic myelopathy.
abstract: Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is a slowly progressive disease resulting from age-related degenerative changes in the spine that can lead to spinal cord dysfunction and significant functional disability. The degenerative changes and abnormal motion lead to vertebral body subluxation, osteophyte formation, ligamentum flavum hypertrophy, and spinal canal narrowing. Repetitive movement during normal cervical motion may result in microtrauma to the spinal cord. Disease extent and location dictate the choice of surgical approach. Anterior spinal decompression and instrumented fusion is successful in preventing CSM progression and has been shown to result in functional improvement in most patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Illinois, 835 South Wolcott Avenue, Room E-270, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. siemiok@gmail.com
authors.forename: Krzysztof B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Siemionow
authors.forename: Sergey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Neckrysh
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001860:Bone Plates; D016025:Bone Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D019299:Decompression, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007796:Laminectomy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056888:Patient Positioning; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D011859:Radiography; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000379:methods*; D055009:Spondylosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome