Surgical Treatment For Severe Rigid Non-angular Cervical Kyphosis

Objective: To approach the method of surgical treatment for severe rigid non-angular cervical kyphosis.Methods: Eight patients with severe rigid non-angular cervical kyphosis with cervical traction for 7 to 16 days(10 days in average),when the preoperative kyphosis corrected by 30% at least , underwent correction and fusion using pedicle screw or lateral mass screw, resection of the posterior wall of vertebral canal is operated on those who present obvious spinal compression. The JOA(Japanese Orthopedic Association) scores and kyphosis angle, were observed .Results: All cases were followed-up for 19.4 months in average. Solid fusion was achieved in all patients .According to JOA score evaluation , the mean of all cases improved from 10.3 to 14 at the final follow-up. The average preoperative cervical kyphosis of 44.4°was improved to -4.1°after surgery and was -3.6°at the final follow-up.Conclusions: Pedicle screw or lateral mass screw fixation systems (with resection of the posterior wall of vertebral canal when compression exists) after careful physical examination, preoperative assessment and standard cervical traction could achieve satisfactory clinical outcomes in severe rigid non-angular cervical kyphosis.