Intraoperative ultrasonography in laminectomy for degenerative cervical spondylotic myelopathy: a clinical and radiological evaluation

Background The incidence of cervical myelopathy due to spinal stenosis is constantly growing in an aging population. Especially in multisegmental disease, dorsal laminectomy is the intervention of choice. Intraoperative imaging with ultrasound might provide additional information about extent and sufficiency of spinal cord decompression. Methods In this prospective study, the width of the subarachnoid space was systematically measured by intraoperative ultrasound at predefined sites at the cranial and caudal edge of decompression in axial and sagittal reconstruction. These data were compared with corresponding sites on postoperative T2-weighted MRI imaging. In addition, the functional outcome was assessed by modified Japanese Orthopaedic Association (mJOA) score. A historical patient cohort treated without ultrasound-guided laminectomy served as control group. Results Altogether, 29 patients were included. According to mJOA score at last follow-up, 7/29 patients reported stable symptoms and 21/29 patients showed a substantial benefit with no or minor residual neurological deficits. One patient suffered from a new C5 palsy. Intraoperative ultrasound-guided posterior decompression provided excellent overview in all cases. Measurement of the width of the subarachnoid space acquired by intraoperative ultrasound and postoperative MRI images showed a very high correlation, especially at the cranial level (p < 0.001, r = 0.880). Bland-Altman analysis showed that most patients were within the 1.96 x SD limits of agreement throughout all measurements. No ultrasound procedure-related complications were observed. Compared to a historical cohort of 27 patients, no significant differences were found regarding functional outcome (p = 0.711). Conclusion Intraoperative sonography visualises the surgically achieved restoration of the subarachnoid space in good correlation with postoperative MRI and might serve as a fast, precise and reliable tool for intraoperative imaging in cervical laminectomy. However, we could not demonstrate a clinical benefit with regard to functional outcome