Full-endoscopic cervical arcocristectomy for the treatment of spinal stenosis: results of a cadaver study.
OBJECTIVE
Cervical spondylotic myelopathy is a multifactorial disease that is directly correlated by the degree of spinal stenosis. Surgery remains the best therapy. A posterior approach is often recommended in patients with multilevel dorsal cervical compression. Aim of the present experimental study was to evaluate the feasibility of a full-endoscopic arcocristectomy in a cadaver study.


METHODS
We performed full-endoscopic arcocristectomy on ten formalin-fixed human cervical specimens. Before and after decompression we obtained high-resolution computerized tomography (CT) data to evaluate the diameter of the cervical spinal canal.


RESULTS
Overall, surgery was possible on 55 segments in ten cadaver specimens. A mean increase of 4.1 mm (±1.2 mm) in the sagittal diameter of the cervical spinal canal could be achieved (p < 0.05, t test).


CONCLUSIONS
The full-endoscopic arcrocristectomy is feasible and achieves a sufficient decompression. This minimal invasive technique protects most of the dorsal structures and therefore probably preserves biomechanical functions, which has to be proven in future studies.
Department of Neurosurgery, Heinrich-Heine-University, Moorenstraße 5, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany. eicker.s@mac.com
Sven O
SO
Eicker
Mark
M
Klingenhöfer
Walter
W
Stummer
Hans-Jakob
HJ
Steiger
Daniel
D
Hänggi
D002102:Cadaver; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D019299:Decompression, Surgical; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D013130:Spinal Stenosis / Q000601:surgery*