Abstract
Two elderly patients, who had undergone expansive laminoplasty (EL) for cervical spondylotic myelopathy associated with developmental canal stenosis, presented with recurrent myelopathy and severe dysesthesic pain in the bilateral upper limbs. The computed imaging study showed posterior displacement and deformity of the cervical cord at the site of the EL, indicating the presence of traction being applied to the cervical cord and root (lets). Both patients underwent antero-lateral partial vertebrectomies (ALPVs) and showed satisfactory improvement of the symptoms in a space of a couple of months. ALPVs, in which the posterior longitudinal ligament was widely excised, facilitated the anterior movement of the cervical cord and worked against the pulling force. Beta-tricalcium phosphate (Beta-TCP) was implanted into the site of the vertebrectomy in both patients. New bone formation was evident on the surface of beta-TCP four months after the surgery in one patient. Beta-TCP seemed to be a useful material to strengthen the cervical column which was reduced in volume by ALPV.
