We investigated tha potential relationships between clinical results, radiological changes and local symptoms in 70 patients with cervical myelopathy who underwent expansive laminoplasty, since 1985. These 70 patients included 44 males and 26 females, with an average age of 63 years. The operative results were evaluated according to their JOA score, and their local symptoms of neck and shoulder pain, after a mean follow-up period of 3 years (range from 1 to 8 years). The cervical sagittal-plane motion was measured on a flexion-extension radiogram. Local symptoms were seen in 20 patients (29%) after the operation. These local symptoms did not correlate with the recovery rate according to the JOA score nor to the measurements on the radiogram. However, we found that local symptoms occurred in about 50% of patients who had previously had a malalignment or an instability in their cervical spine.
