Acta chirurgiae orthopaedicae
et traumatologiae Čechoslovaca

Acta Chir Orthop Traumatol Cech. 2024; 91(2):103-108 | DOI: 10.55095/achot2024/011

Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography Image Reformation for Comparison of Foraminal Cross-Sectional Dimension in Patients Who Have Undergone Laminoplasty and Laminectomy with FusionOriginal papers

S.-J. LEE¹, H.-J. LEE^{2, 3}, Y.-M. LEE⁴, M. F. DESLIVIA⁵, W.-K. MIN^{2, 3}

¹ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine and Gyeongsang National University Changwon Hospital, Sungsan-Gu, Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea

² Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Jung-gu, Daegu, Korea

³ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Jung-gu, Daegu, Korea

⁴ Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Jung-gu, Daegu, Korea

⁵ Department of Orthopaedics, St Carolus Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia

Purpose of the study
Laminectomy with fusion (LF) is commonly performed with laminoplasty (LP) for cervical myelopathy. Foraminal stenosis is important in the surgical treatment of cervical myelopathy. LF and LP can affect foraminal size in different ways. This study aimed to compare foraminal dimensions after LF and LP using a medical computer-assisted design (CAD) program.
Material and methods
Computed tomography (CT) scans of the cervical vertebrae of 16 patients with cervical myelopathy were retrospectively viewed in the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine format on a CAD program. CT images were reformatted in an oblique plane perpendicular to the long axis of each foramen from C2-C3 to C6-C7. The narrowest foraminal cross-sectional dimension (FCD) was measured and compared between the LF and LP groups at the operated, non-operated, and C4-C5 levels. The difference between the preoperative and postoperative FCDs was also calculated and compared between the operated and C4-C5 levels. Intra- and interobserver reliabilities for FCD measurements were evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients.
Results and Discussion
At the operated spinal levels, the LF and LP groups showed decreased and increased mean FCDs, respectively. At the adjacent non-operated levels, the mean FCD slightly increased in both the groups. In the LF group, the difference between the preoperative and postoperative FCDs in the C4-C5 levels was larger than that in the other operated levels, but this difference was insignificant.
Conclusions
LF and LP showed contrary results for FCD. Therefore, FCD and kyphosis should be considered for LF and LP.

Keywords: three-dimensional, foraminal cross-sectional dimension, laminoplasty, laminectomy fusion, computer-aided design, drafting system, preoperative-postoperative comparison.

Received: January 6, 2024; Revised: January 6, 2024; Accepted: June 13, 2024; Published: June 12, 2024  Show citation