{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,15]],"date-time":"2026-05-15T07:03:24Z","timestamp":1778828604008,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,28]],"date-time":"2025-05-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748390400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Cervical degenerative disease is a common condition associated with significant morbidity, often presenting as neck pain, radiculopathy, or myelopathy. Its growing incidence, particularly in the aging population, has led to an increased demand for surgical interventions aimed at relieving neural compression and restoring spinal stability. Objective: This study aims to evaluate surgical outcomes in patients with degenerative cervical conditions, with a particular focus on the role of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) in preventing adverse neurological events both immediately postoperatively and at long-term follow-up. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on patients who underwent cervical spine surgery for degenerative conditions between January 2021 and June 2024. Data collected included demographics, comorbidities, surgical details, and intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring. Surgical outcomes were assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), Odom\u2019s Criteria, and the modified Japanese Association (mJOA) score. Results: Key findings demonstrated that advanced age and the presence of preoperative myelopathy were significantly associated with poorer postoperative outcomes across all evaluated measures. Conversely, factors such as gender, surgical approach, and the number of treated levels did not significantly influence recovery. Although intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) did not show an immediate effect on postoperative outcomes, it was linked to prognostic value for long-term neurological status, suggesting a potential protective role in preserving neurological function. Conclusions: This study identifies age, preoperative functional status, and myelopathy as crucial predictors of postoperative recovery in cervical spine surgery for degenerative disease. These findings underscore the importance of early intervention in patients with myelopathy and highlight the complex role of IONM in improving long-term neurological outcomes. IONM changes may help identify patients at higher risk of poor recovery who could benefit from intensive postoperative rehabilitation. Further prospective studies are warranted to elucidate the complex interactions between patient characteristics and surgical factors in optimizing postoperative recovery.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm14113771","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,28]],"date-time":"2025-05-28T06:30:26Z","timestamp":1748413826000},"page":"3771","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Assessing Surgical Outcomes in Cervical Degenerative Disease: The Role of Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Delia","family":"Cannizzaro","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, ASST Ovest Milano Legnano Hospital, 20025 Legnano, Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-6114-1034","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carlo","family":"Cossa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Humanitas University, Via Rita Levi Montalcini 4, 20072 Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-3767-3921","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giovanni Marco","family":"Sicuri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, ASST Ovest Milano Legnano Hospital, 20025 Legnano, Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Matteo Riccardo","family":"Minotti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, ASST Ovest Milano Legnano Hospital, 20025 Legnano, Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lucia","family":"Politini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurology, ASST Ovest Milano Legnano Hospital, 20025 Legnano, Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-6048-891X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jad","family":"El Choueiri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Humanitas University, Via Rita Levi Montalcini 4, 20072 Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Francesca","family":"Matteo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Roma Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Angelo","family":"Rusconi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, ASST Ovest Milano Legnano Hospital, 20025 Legnano, Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Roberto","family":"Stefini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, ASST Ovest Milano Legnano Hospital, 20025 Legnano, Milan, Italy"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"97","DOI":"10.3171\/2009.5.SPINE09210","article-title":"Surgical management of cervical degenerative disease: The evidence related to indications, impact, and outcome","volume":"11","author":"Fehlings","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. 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