Protective effect of dorsal longitudinal myelotomy at 72 Hours after spinal cord injury in rat model

Incision of the spinal cord (myelotomy) after spinal cord injury (SCI) is a surgical treatment which is mainly performed within 24 hours after SCI. However, many patients are first seen outside the established time window of 24 hours. Furthermore, little attention has been given to its efficacy and mechanism after 24 hours. In this study, dorsal longitudinal incision of spinal cord on SCI rats was performed at 72 hours after SCI to remove the liquefied necrotic gray matter. The results indicated that after myelotomy, locomotor function of hindlimbs significantly improved from 21st day after SCI. There was also increased residual white matter area at the rostral and caudal segments to the injury center when examined at day 42 after the injury. These results suggested that myelotomy at 72 hours after injury has protective effect on the spinal cord.