Predicting post-laminoplasty kyphosis in cervical spondylotic myelopathy patients without preoperative kyphosis: a retrospective study

This study aimed to determine potential risk factors for post-laminoplasty kyphosis and the effect of postoperative kyphosis on neurologic function recovery. A total of 266 patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) underwent traditional cervical laminoplasty with a minimum of a 12-month follow-up period. The patients were divided into non-kyphosis (NK group) and kyphosis (K group) groups based on the postoperative C2-7 Cobb angle. Clinical and radiological measurements were collected preoperatively and at the final follow-up. Of the 266 patients, 26 (9.77%) developed postoperative kyphosis at the final follow-up. The postoperative Japanese Orthopedic Association score did not differ significantly between the NK and K groups (P > 0.05). The postoperative numeric rating scale (NRS) also showed no significant difference between the NK and K groups; however, postoperative NRS improved better than the preoperative values in the NK group (P