A comparison of fusion rates between single-level cervical corpectomy and two-level discectomy and fusion

J Spinal Disord. 2001 Jun;14(3):222-5. doi: 10.1097/00002517-200106000-00006.

Abstract

A single corpectomy and strut grafting has been proposed as an alternative to performing two-level adjacent discectomies with multiple grafts to produce superior fusion rates. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical and radiographic success of two-level discectomy and fusion with anterior cervical plate fixation compared with a single-level corpectomy. Fifty-two patients were treated with either a two-level adjacent anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with cervical plating, or by a single-level corpectomy and plate. Thirty-two patients had two-level discectomies, whereas 20 had a single corpectomy and a strut graft (average follow-up was 3.6 years). One patient had a pseudarthrosis from a single-level corpectomy and required subsequent surgery to obtain an osseous union. The fusion rates between the two groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.385). The clinical results of the surgeries were similar between the groups based on Odom's criteria. The addition of cervical plates to either two-level discectomies or single-level corpectomies yielded similar fusion and complication rates.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Bone Plates
  • Cervical Vertebrae / diagnostic imaging
  • Cervical Vertebrae / surgery*
  • Diskectomy*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Radiography
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Spinal Fusion*
  • Treatment Outcome