title: Comparison of two reconstructive techniques in the surgical management of four-level cervical spondylotic myelopathy.
abstract: To compare the clinical efficacy and radiological outcome of treating 4-level cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) with either anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) or "skip" corpectomy and fusion, 48 patients with 4-level CSM who had undergone ACDF or SCF at our hospital were analyzed retrospectively between January 2008 and June 2011. Twenty-seven patients received ACDF (Group A) and 21 patients received SCF. Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, Neck Disability Index (NDI) score, and Cobb's angles of the fused segments and C2-7 segments were compared in the two groups. The minimum patient follow-up was 2 years. No significant differences between the groups were found in demographic and baseline disease characteristics, duration of surgery, or follow-up time. Our study demonstrates that there was no significant difference in the clinical efficacy of ACDF and SCF, but ACDF involves less intraoperative blood loss, better cervical spine alignment, and fewer postoperative complications than SCF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Third Affiliated Hospital of PLA, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China ; Department of Orthopedics, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: FengNing
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, First Affiliated Hospital of PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100048, China.
authors.forename: ZhongHai
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: HongXing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Third Affiliated Hospital of PLA, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: YiFan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Third Affiliated Hospital of PLA, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: YinQuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: TieSheng
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hou
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011859:Radiography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013118:Spinal Cord Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000009:adverse effects*