ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the clinical efficacy of incising spinal pia mater to relieve pressure and unilateral open-door laminoplasty with internal screw fixation for treatment of the dated spinal cord injury.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>From March, 2009 to July, 2010, 16 cases with chronic cervical cord injury underwent spinal dura mater incision and unilateral open-door laminoplasty with internal screw fixation. Nerve functions of pre- and postoperation were evaluated by Frankel classification and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scale.The improvement rate of JOA score at the indicated time was recorded.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Postoperative Frankel classification rating of 16 patients improved obviously.JOA scores at the 1st month, 3rd month, 6th month, and 12th month after surgery were 7.9 ± 2.3, 8.5 ± 1.6, 8.9 ± 2.1, and 12.4 ± 2.5, respectively, and significantly increased compared with that prior to surgery (5.5 ± 0.6). At the end of follow-up period, JOA score was significantly higher than that of pre-treatment (P<0.05). The recovery was relatively rapid during the first 3 months following the surgery, then entered a platform period.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>It is effective for patients with dated spinal cord injury to undergo spinal decompression and laminoplasty.</p>