A 4-Year Evaluation of Efficacy of Percutaneous Laser Disk Decompression in the Treatment of Cervical Spondylotic Radiculopathy

摘要

The aim of the study was to observe the efficacy of percutaneous laser disk decompression (PLDD) in the treatment of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy. A total of 58 cases of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy patients treated with PLDD were enrolled from December 2002 to April 2008. Of the 58 patients, 47 were continuously followed up for 4 years, including 27 male and 20 female patients aged between 26 and 73 years, with an average of 51.7 years old: 9 patients accepted single-segment surgery; 29 accepted double-segment surgery; and the rest 9 patients accepted 3-segment surgery. The efficacy at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 months after surgery was evaluated by the JOA 20 score method. The fineness rate of JOA scores at 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 months after surgery (the proportion of patients with >=50% improvement rate) were 42.6%, 51.1%, 66.0%, 80.9%, 83%, and 80.9%, respectively. A statistically significant difference was observed between the fineness rates at 1 and 6 months after surgery (P < 0.01); however, no statistical difference was observed between the fineness rates at 6 and 12, 24, or 48 months after surgery (P > 0.05). Thus, it was concluded that PLDD is effective on the treatment of cervical spondylotic radiculopathy, and the efficacy became stable after 6 months of the surgery.