Surgery can help common spinal disease: study

YorkRegion.com

TORONTO - Decompression surgery is a safe, effective means of treating a common but often misdiagnosed disease of the spine that can lead to paralysis, a Canadian-led international study concludes.

The condition known by the unwieldy name of cervical spondylotic myelopathy, or CSM is estimated to affect about 20 per cent of Canadians, usually after age 50. About 10 per cent of those patients require surgery to alleviate progressively worsening symptoms.

"Cervical spondylotic myelopathy is the commonest cause of spinal cord impairment in the world, and it's a complication of arthritis," said Dr. Michael Fehlings, a neurosurgeon at Toronto Western Hospital, who led the study.

"If patients have arthritis, they may very well have this in the neck and it's very, very common," he said. "People will typically present with pain in the neck, but they may not necessarily be aware that they're at risk of developing paralysis."

CSM, which can occur in anyone but is particularly prevalent in people of Asian and South Asian descent, results from the narrowing of the spinal canal, creating pressure on the spinal cord. The condition can cause neck stiffness, arm pain and numbness in the hands.

In an estimated 30 to 50 per cent of cases, the condition gets progressively worse. Left untreated, CSM can affect the limbs, impairing the ability to walk or perform everyday tasks and eventually leading to paralysis.

"It can affect bladder and bowel function, it causes terrible pain, people lose their hand function, they lose their independence, they lose the ability to walk, they can develop all sorts of terrible complications," said Fehlings, medical director of the hospital's Krembil Neuroscience Centre.

Henry Wang's symptoms began in early 2009, with numbness in the pinky finger of his left hand and his baby toe. The tingling and needle-like pain then spread up his left side to the neck; his hand started cramping and his legs began to feel heavy, impeding his ability to jog or play recreational sports.

"The symptoms certainly spread very quickly," Wang, 53, said from his home in Pickering, Ont., just east of Toronto.

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Surgery can help common spinal disease: study