Different posterior decompression for patients with spinal canal stenosis in the upper thoracic and cervical spine

Objective To retrospectively investigate the clinical manifestation of patients with spinal stenosis in the upper thoracic and cervical spine by posterior decompression in different ways. Methods From January 2010 to December 2015, 18 patients of that complicated phenomenon were studied in Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University.Ten patients received one-stage combined decompression (group A); while the other 8 received multi-stage posterior decompression(group B). The Visual analogue scale (JOA), thoracic Cobb and range of motion(ROM) were compared. Result No statistically significant inter-group difference existed in preoperative JOA score[(9.1±2.6)vs (9.1±2.2)]and postoperative JOA score[(15.4±1.2)vs(13.8±4.5)], but the mean recovery rate of nerve function of group A(79%±15%)is better than that of group B(69%±34%). Conclusion All the approaches are effective for the treatment of patients with spinal stenosis in the upper thoracic and cervical spine, while one-staged combined decompression was better than double-staged operation. Key words: Spinal stenosis; Thoracic vertebrae; Cervical vertebrae; Posterior decompression