Can Prophylactic Foraminotomy Prevent C5 Palsy
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT03023696. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
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Official title
A Randomized, Prospective Study Determining the Impact of Prophylactic Bilateral Foraminotomy During Cervical Decompression on C5 Palsy
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
C5 palsy (C5P) is a well-known, although rare complication of cervical spine decompression surgery. In severe forms, C5P causes debilitating upper extremity weakness involving the deltoids and/or biceps brachii muscles, ultimately diminishing these patients' quality of life. Furthermore, about half of patients with C5P present with sensory deficits and/or intractable pain in addition to the muscle weakness. Prophylactic bilateral foraminotomy at the C5 level during cervical decompression surgery has been studied recently with the hope that it will minimize the risk of developing a C5 nerve root palsy postoperatively. Although the current literature provides some support for this claim, there are insufficient data establishing this technique as a proven measure to reduce the incidence of C5P. In the present study, we seek to evaluate the effect of bilateral foraminotomy on postoperative C5P incidence rates. Bilateral foraminotomy has been correlated with a reduced risk of developing C5P following cervical decompression surgery, but an identical foraminotomy procedure has never been applied in a randomized manner to all qualifying patients in a study. Additionally, prophylactic foraminotomy has only been prospectively studied during laminoplasty. In the proposed study, bilateral foraminotomy will be randomized to patients receiving cervical decompression surgery (laminoplasty, laminectomy, fusion). This is a multicenter randomized trial, including the following sites: Cleveland Clinic, Columbia University Medical Center, and University of Southern California Spine Center. Patients undergoing cervical decompression surgery will be consented and enrolled if they meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Subsequently, incidence of C5P will be monitored to determine efficacy of prophylactic C5 bilateral foraminotomy during cervical decompression.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT03023696
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Enrollment
- 480 participants
Conditions and interventions
Interventions
- Bilateral Cervical Keyhole Foraminotomy Procedure
- Cervical Decompression Procedure
Procedure
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 18 Years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- May 31, 2016
- Primary completion
- Nov 30, 2026
- Completion
- Nov 30, 2026
- Last update posted
- Jan 21, 2026
2016 – 2026
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Clinic Foundation | Cleveland | Ohio | 44195 | Recruiting |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT03023696, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Jan 21, 2026 · Synced Sep 5, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT03023696 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.