Ossificationoftheposteriorlongitudinalligament (OPLL) of the thoracic spine is a relatively rare disease, but the accompanying spinal cord compression often leads to severe spinal cord neurological dysfunction. According to Japanese scholar Ohtsuka, the incidence is about 0.8%, which is significantly less than the 3.2% of cervical OPLL. A multicenter study led by Professor Matsumoto of Keio University in Japan recently looked at the clinical problems associated with OPLL of the thoracic spine. The study was published in the October 2011 issue of JNeurosurgSpine. Of the 76 cases of thoracic OPLL, 34 were male and 42 were female, with a mean age of 56.3 years. They were from seven hospital-based spine centers (2003-2007). These lesions were located in the upper thoracic spine (T1-4) in 24 cases (31.6%), in the middle thoracic spine (T5-8) in 41 cases (53.9%), and in the lower thoracic spine (T9-12) in 11 cases (14.5%), and the largest site of ossification was measured from CT with a mean diameter of 7.8 mm (3.0-11.0 mm). The treatment modality adopted was posterior decompressive fusion in 47 cases (61.8%), anterior extrapleural or transthoracic access decompressive fusion in 12 cases, posterior anterior decompressive posterior fusion (resection from the postero-lateral aspect of the spinal canal or floating OPLL) in 4 cases (5.3%) using the method of Ohtsuka et al. and combined anterior-posterior 360-degree decompressive fusion in 13 patients (17.1%). The results showed that the JOA score was 4.6±2.1 preoperatively, 7.4±2.4 at 1 year postoperatively, 7.5±2.4 at 3 years postoperatively, and 7.7±2.5 at the final follow-up, with a mean recovery rate of 45.4%±39.1%, including 38.5%±37.8% for posterior decompression fusion, 65.0%±35.6% for anterior decompression fusion, and 28.8%±41.2% for anterior decompression via the posterior approach The percentage of posterior decompression fusion was 28.8±41.2%, and the percentage of 360-degree decompression fusion was 57.5%±41.1%. It is noteworthy that patients with preoperative combined diabetes mellitus had a poorer postoperative recovery. Thirty-one of all patients (40.8%) developed at least one complication, including 20 cases of postoperative neurological deterioration, 7 cases of dural tears, 5 cases of epidural hematoma formation, and 4 cases of respiratory complications. Overall, patients with thoracic OPLL undergoing decompressive fusion surgery can have good clinical outcomes, but patients with preoperative diabetes mellitus often have less than optimal recovery and have a higher rate of complications from surgical treatment of thoracic OPLL, information that warrants careful consideration by physicians and patients before making treatment decisions.