Severe cervical myelopathy cases sometimes require combined anterior and posterior approaches to achieve circumferential decompression of the spinal cord. When complete decompression was desired, we used a one-stage procedure comprising bilateral open laminoplasty and anterior decompression with body fusion.
This procedure was used in two patients who suffered from cervical canal stenosis associated with disc herniation. In both cases, there were no blood transfusions or complications. The one-stage procedure offers several advantages over the staged procedure, including the requirement of only one operation and anesthetization, leading to fewer days spent in the hospital. Furthermore, neurological improvement may be ameliorated, because complete decompression of the spinal cord is performed at once in the one-stage operation.