title: A comparison of fusion rates between single-level cervical corpectomy and two-level discectomy and fusion.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA 90095-6902, U.S.A.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: McDonough
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Endow
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Delamarter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001860:Bone Plates; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D017586:Diskectomy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013123:Spinal Fusion; D016896:Treatment Outcome