The Incidence of C5 Palsy after Multilevel Cervical Decompression Procedures: A Review of 750 Consecutive Cases. Ahmad Nassr, MD Jason C. Eck, DO, MS Ravi K. Ponnappan, MD Rami R. Zanoun, BS William F. Donaldson, III, MD James D. Kang, MD 2009 AAOS Annual Meeting February 25th-28th Las Vegas, NV
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The Incidence of C5 Palsy after Multilevel Cervical Decompression Procedures: A Review
of 750 Consecutive Cases.
Ahmad Nassr, MD
Jason C. Eck, DO, MS
Ravi K. Ponnappan, MD
Rami R. Zanoun, BS
William F. Donaldson, III, MD
James D. Kang, MD
2009 AAOS Annual MeetingFebruary 25th-28th
Las Vegas, NV
Introduction• C5 Palsy rates vary in the literature ranging from 0-30%.1-3
• Symptoms may include:– paresis of the deltoid and/or biceps brachii muscle
– sensory deficits and/or
– intractable pain in the shoulders.
• The etiology remains uncertain– iatrogenic nerve injury during surgery4
– tethering of the nerve from shifting of the spinal cord5
– spinal cord ischemia6
– reperfusion injury of the spinal cord.7
• The rate of C5 nerve palsy with different surgical procedures is unclear.
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to review the incidence of postoperative C5 nerve palsy in a large consecutive series of multilevel cervical spine decompression procedures to determine if any patient factors or surgical approach affected the incidence.
Methods• Retrospective review of 750 consecutive patients after multilevel
cervical decompression.
• Patients divided into 4 categories:– Anterior Corpectomy
– Anterior Decomp/Posterior Fusion
– Laminectomy and Fusion
– Laminaplasty
• Patients were excluded if:– there was lack of adequate follow-up data
– spinal cord injury preventing preoperative or postoperative motor testing
– or if the decompressive surgery did not include the C5 level.
Hx of Upper Extremity Surgery P=0.13 (Fisher’s Exact)
Diabetes P=0.69 (Fisher’s Exact)
Preoperative Weakness P=1.00 (Fisher’s Exact)
# of Corpectomy Levels P=0.47 (Mantel Haenszel Chi-Square)
Age P=0.44 (2 Sample T-test)
• 13/155 (8.4%) pts with C5 Palsy• 8/13 after 3 or 4 level corpectomies• Resolution in 1 month to 2 years• 3 Pts with residual weakness at final f/u
Corpectomy Group
Risk Factor Probability
Male Gender P=0.57 (Fisher’s Exact)
Smoking P=0.52 (Fisher’s Exact)
Previous Cervical Surgery P=0.70 (Fisher’s Exact)
Hx of Upper Extremity Surgery P=1.00 (Fisher’s Exact)
Diabetes P=0.65 (Fisher’s Exact)
Preoperative Weakness P=1.00 (Fisher’s Exact)
# of Corpectomy LevelsP=0.002 (Mantel Haenszel Chi-Square)
More levels = Higher Risk
AgeP=0.01 (2 Sample T-test)
Palsy Mean 62yo vs. No Palsy 54yo
• 13/255 (5.1%) Pts with C5 Palsy• 12/13 after 3 level corpectomies• Resolution in 7weeks to 10 months• 2 Pts with residual weakness at final f/u
Laminectomy/Fusion Group
Risk Factor Probability
Male Gender P=0.20 (Fisher’s Exact)
Smoking P=1.00 (Fisher’s Exact)
Previous Cervical Surgery P=0.16 (Fisher’s Exact)
Hx of Upper Extremity Surgery P=1.00 (Fisher’s Exact)
Diabetes P=0.69 (Fisher’s Exact)
Preoperative Weakness P=0.50 (Fisher’s Exact)
# of Laminectomy Levels P=0.44 (Mantel Haenszel Chi-Square)
Age P=0.14 (2 Sample T-test)
• 11/116 (9.5%) of Pts with C5 Palsy• Resolution in 1 month - 9 months PO• 3 Pts with residual weakness at final f/u
Laminaplasty Group
• 5/105 (4.8%) Pts with C5 Palsy• Resolution in 1 week to 15 months• No pts with residual weakness at final f/u
Risk Factor Probability
Male Gender P=0.17 (Fisher’s Exact)
Smoking P=0.65 (Fisher’s Exact)
Previous Cervical Surgery P=1.00 (Fisher’s Exact)
Hx of Upper Extremity Surgery P=0.28 (Fisher’s Exact)
Diabetes P=1.00 (Fisher’s Exact)
Preoperative Weakness P=0.65 (Fisher’s Exact)
AgeP=0.04 (2 Sample T-test)
Palsy Mean 47yo vs. No Palsy 60yo
Summary• Largest group of North
American patients evaluated to determine the incidence of C5 Palsy
• 6.7% Rate of C5 Palsy is consistent with previous published reports
• Rate varies with surgical procedure chosen but did not reach statistical significance
•Can occur after surgery to 2 months post-op•Varying time to resolution with mean of 21 wks (1-104 wks)•71% improve within 6months•19% of patients with residual deficit at final f/u•Increased rate of palsy with: