title: Cervical reconstruction techniques. After adequate selection of the patient report of a series of 34 patients treated with winged expandable cages.
abstract: After single or multilevel cervical corpectomy for the treatment of different diseases, many surgical options have been proposed over the years. As a single device, a winged expandable titanium cage (WETC) has been developed. We report the use of this device and our clinical results at 24 months of follow-up in a prospective series of 34 patients who underwent single or multilevel corpectomy for the treatment of cervical spondylosis. Thirty-four consecutive patients underwent single or multilevel cervical corpectomy followed by the insertion of a WETC for the treatment of cervical spondylosis at Department of Neurology and Psychiatry "Sapienza" University of Rome, Italy, from May 2011 to May 2013. Patients affected by cervical spondylosis with cervical lordosis >0° were included. Patients affected by cervical lordosis <0°, osteoporosis, or other cervical diseases were excluded. The mean postsurgical Nurick's grade was significantly lower than the mean presurgical Nurick's grade (mean = 0.98 for postsurgical Nurick's grade and mean = 2.42 for presurgical Nurick's grade). Four patients (11.7 %) presented subsidence respectively of 1, 2, 2, and 3 mm at 24 months of radiological follow-up. Postoperative complications occurred in five patients (14.7 %). Our case series at 24 months of follow-up demonstrates that the use of a WETC obtains good clinical results after single or multiple corpectomy in patients not affected by osteoporosis who do not require cervical lordosis correction. During the insertion of the device, an adequate preparation of the end plates is suggested and their over distraction should be avoided.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Division of Neurosurgery, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tarantino
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Division of Neurosurgery, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy. nigro86@hotmail.it.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nigro
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Division of Neurosurgery, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Donnarumma
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Marika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rullo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Division of Neurosurgery, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santoro
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Division of Neurosurgery, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Delfini
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016268:Internal Fixators; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019919:Prosthesis Implantation; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000601:surgery; D055009:Spondylosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: Cervical spondylosis; Expandable titanium cage; Winged expandable titanium cage