Background Rigid cervical collar is commonly used to maintain the rigid fixation of the neck after surgery and prevent postoperative complications. To date, there is no literature report about the effects of different durations of rigid cervical collar use on clinical outcomes after single-door laminoplasty.
Objective To compare the effects of different durations of rigid cervical collar use (2 weeks vs 3 months) on neck discomfort, functional recovery and imaging results of patients after single-door laminoplasty.
Methods Clinical data about patients who underwent single-door laminoplasty and used a cervical collar for 3 months from January 2017 to December 2018 (long-duration group) and those who underwent the same procedure and used a cervical collar for 2 weeks from January 2019 to December 2020 (short-duration group) were analyzed. The VAS score, NDI score, JOA score, healing rate of hinge, and cervical ROM were compared between the two groups within one year after surgery.
Results A total of 69 patients were included in the study, with 33 in the long-term group, including 20 males and 13 females, with an average age of (52.10 ± 10.15) years. The short-term group consisted of 36 patients, including 24 males and 12 females, with an average age of (55.92 ± 9.48) years. There were no statistically significant differences in gender and age between the two groups (P＞0.05). The scores of VAS (postoperative 3 weeks: 2.92 ± 2.01 vs 1.48 ± 1.13, P=0.003; postoperative 3 months: 2.67 ± 1.71 vs 1.69 ± 1.30, P=0.027) and NDI (postoperative 3 weeks: 35.82 ± 15.81 vs 26.41 ± 15.77, P=0.016; postoperative 3 months: 33.56 ± 12.75 vs 24.92 ± 15.19, P=0.013) in the trail group were worse than those in the long duration group at 3 weeks and 3 months after surgery, and the ROM at postoperative 3 months was significantly better to that in the short duration group (23.03° ± 4.70° vs 30.78° ± 7.38°, P＜0.001). No significant difference in VAS, NDI and ROM between the two groups at other time points was observed. The postoperative JOA score and healing rate of hinge in the two groups were similar at each follow-up time point.
Conclusion The results of our historical cohort study show that there is no obvious disadvantage in shortening the duration of rigid cervical collar use. No significant differences in the functional score, the healing rate of hinge, and cervical ROM are observed in the patients who have a short-duration collar compared with long-duration collar in postoperative one year. Therefore, we suggest that the duration of rigid cervical collar can be shortened after evaluating the patient's condition after surgery.
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