Both small trials had significant risks of bias and do not provide reliable evidence on the effects of surgery for cervical spondylotic radiculopathy or myelopathy. It is unclear whether the short-term risks of surgery are offset by long-term benefits. Further research is very likely to have an impact on the estimate of effect and our confidence in it.
There is low quality evidence that surgery may provide pain relief faster than physiotherapy or hard collar immobilization in patients with cervical radiculopathy; but there is little or no difference in the long-term.
There is very low quality evidence that patients with mild myelopathy feel subjectively better shortly after surgery, but there is little or no difference in the long-term.
The value of somatosensory- and motor-evoked potentials in predicting and monitoring the effect of therapy in spondylotic cervical myelopathy. Prospective randomized study.
A 2-year follow-up prospective randomized electrophysiologic and clinical study of patients with spondylotic cervical myelopathy.
                To assess the value of somatosensory- and motor-evoked potentials in the evaluation and prediction of the effect of therapy.
                Previous studies have yielded conflicting data concerning the correlation between the changes in evoked potential parameters and the clinical postsurgical outcome in spondylotic cervical myelopathy.
                Sixty-one patients with magnetic resonance images suggesting spondylotic cervical cord compression and clinical signs of cervical myelopathy were divided into two groups according to the degree of clinical cervical cord involvement. The 49 patients with mild and moderate spondylotic cervical myelopathy were randomized into groups that underwent either surgical or conservative therapy. Patients were evaluated clinically and by the means of somatosensory- and motor-evoked potentials.
                The clinical and evoked potential changes showed good correlation on the group level, but poor correlation intraindividually. There were no significant evoked potential and clinical group changes after 6 months and 2 years in the mild myelopathy group treated either surgically and conservatively, whereas patients with severe myelopathy displayed significant improvement in clinical and evoked potential parameters after surgery. In a subgroup of patients, the isolated segmental medullar N13 abnormality could potentially predict favorable postsurgical clinical outcome.
                Longitudinal evoked potentials showed limited use for evaluating the results of therapy in an individual patient. They could be useful in the group assessment of therapy results and in labeling a subgroup of patients with potentially favorable postsurgical outcome.