Optimal Treatment of C3 Lamina in Cervical Laminoplasty

-STUDY DESIGN: Results of C4-C6 laminoplasty with C3 laminectomy and C3-C6 laminoplasty were compared retrospectively.-OBJECTIVES: To clarify the difference between C3 lam-inectomy and C3 laminoplasty in cervical laminoplasty.-SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Intraoperative damage to the semispinalis cervicis has been shown to lead to postoperative axial symptoms and reduced range of motion (ROM). To prevent this event, C3 laminectomy in cervical laminoplasty is considered superior to C3 laminoplasty.-METHODS: A total of 36 patients were included in this study: 20 patients (GroupA) of C3 laminectomy, C4-C6 lam-inoplasty compared with 16 patients (GroupB) of C3-C6 laminoplasty. We collected patient's background data, operative time, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, VAS score, and radiologic findings such as C2-C7 Cobb angle, ROM, C2 inter-spinous angle, and use of postoperative PRN medication were compared.-RESULTS: There was no statistically significant differ-ence in the C2-C7 Cobb angles between the 2 groups before and after surgery (P = 0.315). In ROM, there was a 17.7% decrease from 31.5 preoperatively to 25.9 postoperatively in Group A, and a 6.1% decrease from 29.3 preoperatively to 27.5 postoperatively in Group B. There was no statistically significant difference in ROM (P = 0.683). Postoperative neck pain (VAS) was significantly lower in Group A than in Group B both at 1 week (P = 0.015) and 1 month (P = 0.035) after surgery. The C2 inter-spinous angle was statistically significantly smaller in Group A than in Group B (P = 0.004). Clinical outcomes and surgical outcomes did not differ significantly between groups.-CONCLUSIONS: If the C2 interspinous angle is wide and intraoperative semispinalis capitis damage can be mini-mized, it is worth trying C3 laminoplasty, but if the C2 inter-spinous angle is narrow, C3 laminectomy is recommended from the beginning.