الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract OPLL is a hyperostotic progression of the posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL) that is associated with various degrees of neurological deficit. The most common presenting complaint of the patients are paresthesia or numbness of the hands, sphincters dysfunction and difficulty in walking, motor dysfunction. Other symptoms are clumsiness of the fingers, neck pain, quadriparesis, stiff spine, tightness of the trunk or legs. Precise radiological evaluation leads to correct diagnosis and treatment. Computed tomography is much more sensitive for visualizing the detailed outlines of any ossified mass. Sufficient decompression of the spinal cord will not be obtained with surgeries from the posterior approach. So appropriate corpectomy through anterior approach should allow direct removal of OPLL compressing the spinal cord to achieve good outcomes. There are four types of OPLL: the segmental form found behind the vertebral bodies (VBs); the continuous form extending from vertebra to vertebra; the mixed form including both continuous and segmental elements; and the localized type located opposite the disc spaces. Surgical alternatives include anterior, posterior, or circumferential decompression and/or stabilization. Based on the results of this study and a review of the literature, no significant differences in clinical results existed between different approaches and techniques for patients with mild ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, but anterior corpectomy and fusion was superior in the treatment of the patients with severe ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament and with single or double level. With respect to the posterior approach, laminectomy , laminoplasty and instrumented fusion improved the surgical results of severe ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament with multiple levels. |