Surgical decompression is an effective treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy, the leading cause of spinal cord dysfunction worldwide, according to a study published in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
From 2005 to 2007, researchers at 12 trial centers across North America examined patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy and MRI evidence of spinal cord compression. Using a variety of outcome indices, researchers evaluated patients before and after surgery to determine the effect of the surgical decompression. One-year follow-up data was available for 222 patients.
The surgery was associated with improvement in functional, disability-related and quality-of-life outcomes at the one year follow-up. Complications from surgery were brief and expected.
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