Correlation Analysis for Selection of Microtitanium Plates with Different Specifications for Use in a Cervical Vertebral Dome Expansion Laminoplasty

Objective To analyze correlations between the selection of microtitanium plates with different specifications for use in a cervical vertebral dome expansion laminoplasty. Methods Sixteen patients that underwent the cervical vertebral dome expansion laminoplasty with a cervical spinal stenosis angioplasty procedure for treatment of their cervical spinal cords were recruited at our hospital. From February 2017 to September 2018, medical records confirmed that all patients underwent cervical CT and MRI tests pre‐ and postsurgery. The anteroposterior diameter of the spinal canal, changes in the cross‐sectional area of the spinal canal, and the pre‐ and postsurgery distance of the cervical spinal cord after applying microtitanium plates with different lengths were measured by Mimics version 17.0 software (Materialise NV, Leuven, Belgium). A statistical regression and correlation analysis of relevant specification parameters of the microtitanium plate was then studied. Results As the size of the microtitanium plate increased, we found that the cross‐sectional area of cervical spinal canal and distance between the descendants of the lamina and the distance of cervical spinal cord concordantly increased, and these data changes linearly. The regression equation associated with sagittal diameter, cross‐sectional area, and posterior movement distance of the cervical spinal cord was obtained. Conclusion According to the correlation analysis of imaging data changes, the regression equation was obtained to guide the selection of microtitanium plates with appropriate specifications in a cervical vertebral dome expansion laminoplasty.
This type of surgery involves lavage of the lamina at the junction of the C3‐C7 bilateral lamina and the facet joint and requires the lamina to be completely moved backward. In this process, we attempted to protect and retain the relevant tissue structures attached to the spinous process, such as the supraspinous ligament and interspinous ligament, while keeping the spinous process in the original center position and enlarging the spinal canal. This procedure permits the spinal cord to drift backward, thus reducing the pressure on the cervical spinal cord. Then, we used our own microtitanium plate to fix the two sides of the lamina to form a strong structure. As the size of the microtitanium plate increased, we found that the cross‐sectional area of cervical spinal canal and distance between the descendants of the lamina and the distance of cervical spinal cord concordantly increased. The regression equation associated with sagittal diameter, cross‐sectional area, and posterior movement distance of the cervical spinal cord was obtained. The use of the corresponding regression equations enabled the prediction of the cervical spinal canal parameters and posterior movement distance of the cervical spinal cord when adopting different specifications of the microtitanium plate for different segments of the cervical vertebrae.