Multimodal MRI of cervical spinal cord injury before and after surgical myelotomy

Abstract

Surgical myelotomy, a procedure intended to relieve pressure on an acutely-injured spinal cord, improves long-term functional and pathologic outcomes in animal models. However, the direct consequences of myelotomy on the cord pathophysiology have not been evaluated in the acute setting. In this work, we used multimodal MRI tailored for the spinal cord to monitor changes in edema, hemorrhage, axonal injury, and perfusion immediately before and 24 hours after surgical myelotomy. The results demonstrate spatial and temporal changes and provide unique insight into the pathophysiology of acute injury and its intervention.