MRI Study of OPLL in Cervical Region

Abstract

Diagnosis by MRI was analyzed in 15 patients with OPLL of the cervical region. As a result we found that MRI could diagnose OPLL in 9 of 15 patients (60%). This rate was inferior to those by plain radiographs (86.7%), tomogram (100%) and CT (100%). There was a strong relationship in the possibility of diagnosis by MRI to the efficacious AP canal diameter of the cervical spine. Even in the cervical spine with less than 9mm of the AP canal diameter, the image of spinal cord compression appeared in MRI.