Anterior surgery for cervical disc disease. Part 2: Treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy in 32 cases.

The results of anterior cervical surgery for treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) are assessed 1 to 7 years postoperatively in 32 patients. At follow-up review, 50% were improved after surgery and 50% were unimproved or had deteriorated in spite of surgery. The results could not be statistically linked to the patients' age, duration of symptoms, severity of myelopathy, cervical canal size, or the performance of single- or multiple-level operations. Various anterior surgical techniques were used, but none proved to have superior results. The results in this series failed to surpass the results obtained by others for conservative treatment alone. In many cases, symptoms of CSM progressed despite the intervention of anterior cervical surgery.