Surgical Neurology International OPEN ACCESS
SNI: Spine, a supplement to Surgical Neurology International
For entire Editorial Board visit : http://www.surgicalneurologyint.com
Editor: Nancy E. Epstein, MD Winthrop University Hospital, Mineola, NY, USA
Cervical laminoforaminotomy for radiculopathy: Symptomatic and functional outcomes in a large cohort with long‑term follow‑up Ephraim W. Church, Casey H. Halpern1, Ryan W. Faught1, Usha Balmuri1, Mark A. Attiah1, Sharon Hayden1, Marie Kerr1, Eileen Maloney-Wilensky1, Janice Bynum1, Stephen J. Dante1, William C. Welch1, Frederick A. Simeone1 Department of Neurosurgery, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, 30 Hope Drive, Hershey, 1University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA USA E‑mail: *Ephraim W. Church ‑
[email protected]; Casey H. Halpern ‑
[email protected]; Ryan Faught ‑
[email protected]; Usha Balmuri ‑
[email protected]; Mark Attiah ‑
[email protected]; Sharon Hayden ‑
[email protected]; Marie Kerr ‑
[email protected]; Eileen Maloney‑Wilensky ‑
[email protected]; Janice Bynum ‑
[email protected]; Stephen J. Dante ‑
[email protected]; William C. Welch ‑
[email protected]; Frederick A. Simeone ‑
[email protected] *Corresponding Author Received: 16 April 14 Accepted: 05 August 14 Published: 30 December 14 This article may be cited as: Church EW, Halpern CH, Faught RW, Balmuri U, Attiah MA, Hayden S, et al. Cervical laminoforaminotomy for radiculopathy: Symptomatic and functional outcomes in a large cohort with long-term follow-up. Surg Neurol Int 2014;5:S536-43. Available FREE in open access from: http://www.surgicalneurologyint.com/text.asp?2014/5/16/536/148029 Copyright: © 2014 Chuech EW. This is an open‑access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract Background: The efficacy and safety of cervical laminoforaminotomy (FOR) in the treatment of cervical radiculopathy has been demonstrated in several series with follow‑up less than a decade. However, there is little data analyzing the relative effectiveness of FOR for radiculopathy due to soft disc versus osteophyte disease. In the present study, we review our experience with FOR in a single‑center cohort, with long‑term follow‑up. Methods: We examined the charts of patients who underwent 1085 FORs between 1990 and 2009. A cohort of these patients participated in a telephone interview designed to assess improvement in symptoms and function. Results: A total of 338 interviews were completed with a mean follow‑up of 10 years. Approximately 90% of interviewees reported improved pain, weakness, or function following FOR. Ninety‑three percent of patients were able to return to work after FOR. The overall complication rate was 3.3%, and the rate of recurrent radiculopathy requiring surgery was 6.2%. Soft disc subtypes compared to osteophyte disease by operative report were associated with improved symptoms (P
