A Case of Successful Foraminotomy for Severe Bilateral C5 Palsy following Posterior Decompression and Fusion Surgery for Cervical Ossification of Posterior Longitudinal Ligament

Figure 4

A timeline based graph for the changes of muscle strength (MMT) in bilateral deltoid and biceps. The palsy started on the left side in which foraminal stenosis is more severe on the second day after laminectomy and fusion and then extended on to the right side on the fifth day. Paresis gradually deteriorated and manual muscle testing finally became of grade 0-1 at 10 days after surgery, on which day we performed additional foraminotomy. Muscular contraction was seen at 2 weeks after foraminotomy and gradually improved. The weakness of left deltoid remained. Finally, complete recovery was achieved in a year after additional foraminotomy.