Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Ferguson Laboratory for Orthopaedic Research, University of Pittsburgh, E1643 Biomedical Science Tower, 200 Lothrop St, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. Electronic address: [Email]
Postoperative C5 palsy is a well-known complication of cervical decompression procedures. Studies have shown that posterior laminectomy and fusions confer the greatest risk of C5 palsy. Despite this, pharmacologic preventive measures remain unknown. We hypothesize that prophylactic perioperative dexamethasone (DEX) will decrease the rate of postoperative C5 palsy in patients undergoing a multilevel posterior cervical laminectomy and fusion.
