Sagittal alignment differences on the operating room table compared to preoperative and postoperative imaging in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.

STUDY DESIGN

The study design used was a retrospective cohort.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to determine if intraoperative improvements in sagittal alignment on the operating table persisted on postoperative standing radiographs.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA

Cervical sagittal alignment may be correlated to postoperative outcomes. Since anterior cervical discectomy and fusions (ACDFs) can restore some cervical lordosis through intervertebral grafts/cages, it is important to understand if intraoperative radiographic measurements correlate with persistent postoperative radiographic changes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients undergoing elective primary ACDF were screened for the presence of lateral cervical radiographs preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively. Patients were excluded if their first postoperative radiograph was more than 3 months following the procedure or if cervical lordosis was not able to be measured at each time point. Paired -tests were utilized to compare differences in measurements between time points. Statistical significance was set at < 0.05.

RESULTS

Of 46 included patients, 26 (56.5%) were female, and the mean age was 55.2 ± 11.6 years. C0-C2 lordosis significantly increased from the preoperative to intraoperative time point (delta [Δ] = 4.49, = 0.029) and significantly decreased from the intraoperative to postoperative time period (Δ = -6.57, < 0.001), but this resulted in no significant preoperative to postoperative change (Δ = -2.08, = 0.096). C2 slope decreased from the preoperative to the intraoperative time point (Δ = -3.84, = 0.043) and significantly increased from the intraoperative to the postoperative time point (Δ = 3.68, = 0.047), which also resulted in no net change in alignment between the preoperative and postoperative periods (Δ = -0.16, = 0.848). There was no significant difference in the C2-C7 SVA from the preoperative to intraoperative (Δ = 0.85, = 0.724) or intraoperative to postoperative periods (Δ = 2.04, = 0.401); however, the C2-C7 SVA significantly increased from the preoperative to postoperative period (Δ = 2.88, = 0.006).

CONCLUSIONS

Intraoperative positioning predominantly affects the mobile upper cervical spine, particularly C0-C2 lordosis and C2 slope, but these changes do not persist postoperatively.