Cervical Disc Hernia with Myelopathy

Herniation of cervical discs often reveals radiculopathy which can usually be cured with conservative therapy. On the other hand, surgical treatment will be required for aggravating myelopathy when conservative therapy has been unsuccessful. We reviewed cases with herniation of a cervical disc and myelopathy who required surgical treatment.We performed 172 cases of cervical anterior spinal fusion from 1988 to 1993 including 41 cases (28 males and 13 females) of cervical disc hernia with myelopathy. We excluded cases caused by trauma, and of the 35 cases in the study, 32 gained excellent or good results with a good improving JOA score rate of 86%. Considering the relationship between preoperative factors and the improving JOA score rate, elderly patients gained less improvement, and patients with only a short duration of the disorder gained more improvement.