Does Posterior Cervical Decompression Conducted by Junior Surgeons Affect Clinical Outcomes in the Treatment of Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy? Results From a Multicenter Study:

Study Design:Retrospective multicenter study.Objectives:To evaluate the outcomes of posterior cervical decompression for cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) when performed by board-certified spine (BCS) or non-BCS (NBCS) surgeons.Methods:We reviewed outcomes for 675 patients who underwent surgery for CSM, were followed at least 1 year after surgery, and were assessed preoperatively and at final follow-up by Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores and by the visual analog scale (VAS) for the neck. Cervical alignment was assessed on radiographs by C2-C7 angles, and range of motion (ROM) by extension minus flexion C2-C7 angles. We compared outcomes for BCS surgeons, who must meet several requirements, including experience in more than 300 spinal surgeries, and for NBCS surgeons.Results:BCS surgeons performed 432 of 675 laminoplasties. NBCS surgeons were primary in 243 surgeries, of which 187 were directly supervised by a BCS surgeon. BCS surgeons required significantly less time in surgery (98.0 ± 39...