Application of the Ridge Board Technique in Endoscopic Treatment of Cervical Stenosis: Surgical Technique and Preliminary Results.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to introduce a new surgical technique for the decompression of cervical stenosis (CS) and characterize its early clinical and radiographic results. Thirty-four consecutive patients with CS who needed surgical intervention were recruited. All patients underwent full-endoscopic cervical laminectomy using the "Ridge Board" technique. All patients were followed postoperatively for >1 year. The preoperative and final follow-up evaluations included the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score for neurological assessment, visual analogue scale (VAS) for axial pain, C2-C7 Cobb angle for cervical sagittal alignment,and Short-Form-12 (SF-12) for health-related quality of life. The postoperative complications were analyzed. A total of 34 patients (23 males and 11 females) were enrolled in this study. The mean follow-up duration was 21 ± 9.2 months, with an average operative time of 74 ± 24 minutes. Postoperative MRI and CT imaging confirmed adequate neural decompression at the treated levels in all cases. Postoperative assessments revealed significant improvements in the visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores, and Short-Form-12 (SF-12) composite measures, while cervical lordosis was well maintained on postoperative radiographic evaluation. The "ridge board" technique, for the first time, abstracts the "base of spinous process" into the "ridge board" construct, providing surgeons with a systematic and reproducible anatomical reference.It is a novel, safe, effective, and minimally invasive procedure for treating cervical stenosis (CS).