Rate of Conversion to Fusion Following Cervical Laminectomy Versus Laminoplasty: A Retrospective Analysis of 4,406 Patients

Study DesignRetrospective Administrative Database Analysis.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to compare the rate of subsequent cervical fusion surgery between patients that received cervical laminectomy and cervical laminoplasty for degenerative cervical disease.MethodsThe PearlDiver database for years 2010 to 2021 was queried for patients who received either a posterior cervical laminectomy or a cervical laminoplasty for a diagnosis of degenerative cervical disease. A matched analysis was performed using the significant variables. Rates of subsequent fusion surgery were determined for each cohort for 2-year, 5-year, and 10-year after surgery. Survival analysis was performed.ResultsA total of 4406 patients (Laminectomy: 2258; Laminoplasty: 2148) were included in this study. In the matched analysis, the rate of subsequent fusion surgery for laminectomy at 2-year, 5-year, and 10-year were 3.2%, 5.0%, and 5.7%, respectively. The rate of subsequent fusion surgery for laminoplasty at 2-year, 5-year, and 10-year were 2.2%, 3.2%, and 3.5%, respectively. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups at 2-year after surgery (<i>P</i> = 0.07). Patients who received cervical laminectomy had a higher rate of subsequent fusion surgery than cervical laminoplasty at 5-year (<i>P</i> < 0.01), and 10-year (<i>P</i> < 0.01) after surgery. Conclusions: In patients with degenerative cervical disease, cervical laminectomy had a significantly higher rate of subsequent fusion surgery than cervical laminoplasty at 5-year and 10-year post-surgery. This is the largest study comparing laminectomy to laminoplasty to date.