Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament, Report of Seven Cases

Mohammadi, H.R.; Shabepour, M.; Naebaghaee, H.; Bayati, F.; Arjmand, A.

Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament, Report of Seven Cases

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

H.R. Mohammadi ¹

M. Shabepour ¹

H. Naebaghaee ¹

F. Bayati ²

A. Arjmand ³

¹ Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Emam Hossein Hospital, Tehran, Iran

² Resident of Neurosurgery, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Emam Hossein Hospital, Tehran, Iran

³ Neurosurgeon, Emam Hossein Hospital, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Introduction & Objective: Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament is a rare disease that can
cause myelopathy or radiculopathy. This report is performed for presentation of OPLL as a treatable cause of
a disabling condition, myelopathy.
Materials & Methods: Seven patients with OPLL underwent surgery by neurosurgical team. Six
patients had cervical and one patient had thoracic OPLL. All patients underwent clinical assessment and
radiological evaluation with plain x-ray, CT scan and MRI preoperatively.
Results: After surgery patient who had radiculopathy or short duration of symptoms had better response
to operation.
Conclusions: Early diagnosis and selection of best surgical approach will result in improvement of
neurological function and better quality of life in OPLL patients. In the other hand patients who had prolonged
duration of symptoms before surgery, had poor surgical results.

Keywords

Ossification

Posterior Longitudinal Ligament

Stenosis

Corpectomy

Laminectomy