Surgical End Results of Cervical Ridge and Disk Problems

A series of 73 cases involving operations, for syndromes due to herniated cervical disks or cervical spondylosis, from 1950 to 1960, has been reviewed. The series has been divided into four categories depending on whether the lesion was a soft displaced disk or a hard arthritic spur or ridge, and whether the presenting complaint was of root origin or spinal cord embarrassment. In addition, results of similar cases described in the literature have been collected and categorized. It has been found that results of surgery for the radicular syndromes, whether originating from herniated soft disks or arthritic spurs, are uniformly good. Of patients harboring midline lesions manifesting symptoms of spinal cord compression, only 33% have satisfactory results following surgical decompression. However, these latter patients had progressive neurological syndromes that, in many instances, were arrested after surgery. Because the predetermined classification of results applicable to the entire series depends on recovery from the presenting symptoms, this favorable effect on the course of the illness is not reflected in the data.