FINITE ELEMENT MODEL OF MULTI LEVEL CERVICAL LAMINOPLASTY

摘要

Cervical spinal stenosis is a medical condition caused by the narrowing of the spinal canal, possibly leading to the compression of the spinal cord or other nerve roots [1]. Surgical options include an anterior approach involving decompression and fusion or a posterior approach involving laminectomy and fusion or laminoplasty. Laminoplasty, considered an alternative to laminectomy, is a procedure intended to relieve pressure on the spinal cord while maintaining the stabilizing effects of the posterior elements of the vertebrae.rnA single hinge laminoplasty procedure involves "hinging" one side of the lamina and cutting the other side to form a door. Once the lamina is opened, preventing restenosis is a primary concern. Several modifications to Hirabayashi's original methods have been developed [4]. The use of titanium miniplates and screws to stabilize the lamina in an open position has been well accepted. Our earlier studies on single-level laminoplasty have shown increased sagittal diameter using this technique [6]. The finite element method is an ideal tool to assess the biomechanical efficacy of surgical treatments while supplementing in vitro studies. The current study is a finite element approach of looking at the effect of multi-level laminoplasty on the biomechanics of cervical spine.