The operation known as canal-expansive laminaplasty has the following
advantages over wide laminectomy: (1) osseous protection of the spinal cord
is retained, (2) the invasion of the cord by scar tissue is minimized, and
(3) the stability of the spine is retained. We are reporting the clinical,
computed tomographic, and computed myelographic findings before and after
this operation in twenty-four patients with cervical myelopathy due to
cervical spondylosis, spinal stenosis, or ossification of the posterior
longitudinal ligament. The clinical results were excellent in four
patients, good in eighteen, and fair in two. Symmetrical expansion of the
spinal canal was clearly demonstrated by computed tomograms, and the
metrizamide ring on the myelograms had a normal rounded curvature.