Background: With the continuous advancement of the spinal endoscopic technique in recent years, full-endoscopic operations provide a new approach for the treatment of migrated cervical disk herniation.
Case description: A 42-year-old man presented with nuchal pain and limb numbness for 2 months, with recently developed symptoms of unstable walking. Physical examination revealed a diminished skin sensitivity to pain and temperature, beginning at the C4 dermatome. The muscle strength of both upper limbs decreased to grade 4, and the muscle strength was grade 4 on both sides of the lower limbs. Hoffmann sign and ankle clonus were positive. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scan demonstrated that a large piece of a segmental disk had migrated to the rear area of the C4 vertebral body and seriously compressed the spinal cord. A percutaneous full-endoscopic anterior transcorporeal cervical diskectomy was performed on the patient.
Conclusions: The postoperative Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score increased from 8 to 11 points. At 2-year follow-up, the JOA score was 16 points, the improvement rate was 88.9%, and cervical vertebrae MRI, cervical CT scan, and 3-dimensional reconstruction showed that the cervical vertebrae channel healed without vertebral fractures, bony channel collapse, adjacent segment degeneration, or intervertebral space height.
Keywords: Anterior transcorporeal cervical diskectomy; Full-endoscopic operation; Migrated cervical disk herniation; Transcorporeal approach.
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