Abstract
Twenty consecutive patients surgically treated for cervical spondylotic radiculopathy were studied retrospectively. These cases were divided into two groups according to their predominant symptoms, group I with prominent radicular pain (n=9) and group II characterized by significant upper limb weakness (n=11). Although both groups showed marked clinical improvements following anterior decompression and fusion, the results were less favorable in group II than in group I because of the residual weakness.
Preoperative neurological examination revealed that the distribution of the upper limb weakness in group II patients was not limited to muscles innervated from one spinal cord segment, but had a tendency to involve distal muscles. In contrast, sensory deficits tended to be of a focal distribution rather than diffuse. Radiographically, preoperative MRI demonstrated that spinal cord compression was more common in group II than in group I. These findings suggested that the complexity of the clinical picture in some radiculopathies was related to the confusing association of spinal cord involvement.
