OBJECT The objective of this systematic review was to use evidence-based medicine to identify the indications and utility of anterior cervical nerve root decompression. METHODS The National Library of Medicine and Cochrane Database were queried using MeSH headings and key words relevant to surgical management of cervical radiculopathy. Abstracts were reviewed after which studies meeting inclu...

Treatment for haemangioma of the spinal cord often results in extensive bony resection that necessitates fusion and/or instrumentation. We report on a 75-year-old man who presented with neuropathic pain and muscle weakness of both lower limbs, secondary to an epidural haemangioma at T11-T12, extending laterally into the neuroforamen. The tumour was resected within the neuroforamen after a parti...

Ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) causing compressive cervical myelopathy or radiculopathy is rare. A 50-year-old male was admitted for progressive hypesthesia and paresthesia of both hands and a gradually worsening gait. MRI and CT scans demonstrated ossification of the left ligamentum flavum with dural sac and cord compression at the C5-6 level. The ossified ligamentum flavum was re...

Anterior cervical spine surgery is an established surgical intervention for cervical degenerative disease and high success rate with excellent long-term outcomes have been reported. However, indications of surgical procedures for certain conditions are still controversial and severe complications to cause neurological dysfunction or deaths may occur. This review is focused mainly on five widely...

Following an L5-S1 SB Charité disc III implantation, a 37-year-old female patient developed intractable radicular pain in the left L5 distribution. The patient underwent a minimally invasive foraminotomy, and her symptoms improved significantly. However, following recurrence of radicular pain, she showed signs of an L5-S1 facet degeneration and recurrent nerve root compression from hypertrophie...

A 10-year-old Domestic Shorthair cat was admitted for chronic ambulatory paraparesis and a spinal malformation. The clinical examination revealed paraparesis accentuated on the left side. Thoracolumbar radiographs revealed a spinal malformation with a narrowed intervertebral space between L1 and L2, and a dorsal fusion at the level of L2-L3 with a common dorsal process. Magnetic resonance imagi...

Lumbar microdiscectomy (MD) is the gold standard for treatment of lumbar disc herniation. Generally, the surgeon attempts to protect the facet joint in hopes of avoiding postoperative pain/instability and secondary degenerative arthropathy. We believe that preserving the facet joint is especially important in young patients, owing to their life expectancy and activity. However, preserving the f...