1Department of Neurosurgery, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona; and.
2Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Neurosurg Focus. 2023 Sep;55(3):E4. doi: 10.3171/2023.6.FOCUS23303.
OBJECTIVE: Fusion rates and long-term outcomes are well established for anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) of 3 levels or fewer, but there is a paucity of similar data on 4-level fusions. The authors evaluated long-term fusion rates and clinical outcomes after 4-level ACDF without supplemental posterior instrumentation. METHODS: The authors retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent 4-level ACDF at a single institution with at least 1-year of radiological follow-up. Fusion was determined by measuring change in interspinous distance at each segment on dynamic radiographs or by the presence of bridging bone on CT scans at minimum 1-year follow-up. Clinical outcomes were assessed using Neck Disability Index and Short Form-36. RESULTS: A total of 63 patients (252 levels) met the inclusion criteria for the study, with a mean follow-up of 2.6 years. Complete radiographic fusion at all 4 levels was observed in 26 patients (41.3%). Of the 37 patients (58.7%) with radiographic pseudarthrosis, there was a mean of 1.35 nonfused levels. The fusion rate per level, however, was 80.2% (202/252 levels). The most common level demonstrating nonunion was the distal segment (C6-7), showing pseudarthrosis in 29 patients (46.8%), followed by the most proximal segment (C3-4) demonstrating nonunion in 9 patients (14.5%). The mean improvement in Neck Disability Index and Short Form-36 was 15.7 (p < 0.01) and 5.8 (p = 0.14), respectively, with improvement in both scores surpassing the minimum clinically important difference. One patient (1.6%) required revision surgery for symptomatic pseudarthrosis, and 5 patients (7.9%) underwent revision for symptomatic adjacent-segment disease. Patient-reported outcomes results are limited by the low rate of 1-year follow-up (50.8%), whereas reoperation data were available for all 63 patients. CONCLUSIONS: More than half of patients undergoing 4-level ACDF without posterior fixation demonstrated pseudarthrosis of at least 1 level-most commonly the distal C6-7 level. One patient required revision for symptomatic pseudarthrosis. Patient-reported outcomes showed significant improvements at 1-year follow-up, but clinical follow-up was limited. This is the largest series to date to evaluate fusion outcomes in 4-level ACDF.
目的:颈椎前路减压融合术(ACDF)治疗 3 个或以下节段的融合率和长期疗效已经得到很好的确立,但对于 4 个节段融合术,类似的资料却很少。作者评估了在不使用辅助后路器械的情况下,4 个节段 ACDF 的长期融合率和临床疗效。
方法:作者回顾性分析了在一家机构接受 4 个节段 ACDF 的患者,这些患者至少有 1 年的影像学随访。融合通过动态 X 光片上每个节段的棘突间距离变化或 CT 扫描上至少 1 年随访时的桥接骨来确定。使用颈残障指数和简明 36 项健康调查量表来评估临床结果。
结果:共有 63 例患者(252 个节段)符合研究标准,平均随访时间为 2.6 年。26 例患者(41.3%)在所有 4 个节段均完全影像学融合。37 例(58.7%)患者出现影像学假关节,平均有 1.35 个未融合节段。然而,每个节段的融合率为 80.2%(202/252 个节段)。最常见的不融合节段是远端节段(C6-7),29 例患者(46.8%)出现假关节,其次是最靠近近端的节段(C3-4),9 例患者(14.5%)出现不融合。颈残障指数和简明 36 项健康调查量表的平均改善率分别为 15.7(p < 0.01)和 5.8(p = 0.14),均超过了最小临床重要差异。1 例患者(1.6%)因症状性假关节而行翻修手术,5 例患者(7.9%)因症状性邻近节段疾病而行翻修手术。患者报告的结果受到 1 年随访率低(50.8%)的限制,而所有 63 例患者都可获得再手术数据。
结论:在不使用后路固定的情况下,超过一半的 4 个节段 ACDF 患者至少有 1 个节段出现假关节,最常见的是远端 C6-7 节段。1 例患者因症状性假关节而行翻修手术。患者报告的结果在 1 年随访时显示出显著改善,但临床随访有限。这是目前为止评估 4 个节段 ACDF 融合结果的最大系列研究。
Int J Spine Surg. 2024-11-8