Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy

Dr. Fehlings is the Vice Chair Research for the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto and Head of the Spinal Program at Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network. Dr. Fehlings is a Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto, holds the Gerry and Tootsie Halbert Chair in Neural Repair and Regeneration, is a Scientist at the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine and a McLaughlin Scholar in Molecular Medicine. In the fall of 2008, Dr. Fehlings was appointed the inaugural Director of the University of Toronto Neuroscience Program (which he held until June 2012) and is currently Co-Director of the University of Toronto Spine Program. Dr. Fehlings combines an active clinical practice in complex spinal surgery with a translationally oriented research program focused on discovering novel treatments to improve functional outcomes following spinal cord injury (SCI).

• 1. Overview of DCM 2. Anatomy and Physiology of Cervical Spine and Cervical Spinal Cord 3. Epidemiology, Genetics and Classification of DCM 4. Pathophysiology of DCM 5. Clinical Assessment Tools 6. Imaging of DCM 7. Electrophysiological Assessment of DCM 8. Assessment of Cervical Alignment and Deformity 9. Patient Trajectory and Natural History 10. Role of the Primary Care Practitioner in the Assessment and Management of DCM 11. RECODE Priorities 12. Overview of Management Options for DCM (reference current guidelines) 13. Prehabilitation and Rehabilitation for DCM 14. Decision Making in Surgical Management of DCM 15. Anterior Surgical Approaches to Treat DCM 16. Posterior Surgical Approaches to Treat DCM – Cervical Laminectomy 17. Posterior Surgical Approaches to Treat DCM – Cervical Laminoplasty 18. Serological, Genetic and Imaging Biomarkers 19. Nonoperative Management of DCM (including potential neuroprotective strategies) 20. Neuroregenerative Strategies for DCM 21. State of the Art and Future Directions of DCM