European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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Fusion of cervical spine in kyphotic alignment has been proven to produce an acceleration of degenerative changes at adjacent levels. Stand-alone cages are reported to have a relatively high incidence of implant subsidence with secondary kyphotic deformity. This malalignment may theoretically lead to adjacent segment disease in the long term. ⋯ Our results were not able to reflect the importance of end-plate integrity maintenance; the authors would, however, caution against mechanical end-plate damage. Intraoperative overdistraction was not shown to be a significant risk factor in this study. The significance of implant subsidence in acceleration of degenerative changes in adjacent segments remains to be evaluated during a longer follow-up.
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To retrospectively study the long-term outcome of patients after anterior cervical discectomy without fusion (ACD) compared to results published on the long-term outcome after ACD with fusion (ACDF). We reviewed the charts of all patients receiving ACD surgery between 1985 and 2000 to analyze the direct post-operative results as well as complications of the surgery. Moreover, 102 patients, randomly selected, were interviewed with the neck disability index to study possible persisting complaints up to 18 years after ACD surgery. ⋯ Over the longer term, patients report increasing complaints. The increase in complaints at the time of the survey may be the result of ongoing degenerative effects. Compared to published data on ACDF, there is no superiority of any fusion technique compared to ACD alone.