ABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: This is a prospective study. OBJECTIVES: We wanted to analyse the correlation between the radiographic and clinical results after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for treating degenerative cervical diseases. Summary of Literature REVIEW: ACDF is a successful procedure for treating the degenerative cervical spine. Many studies have reported on radiographic results and clinical outcomes of this procedure. However, few studies have examined the relationships between the changes of the radiographic parameters and the clinical results after ACDF. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 26 patients who had single level ACDF performed for degenerative cervical diseases during the period between Jan, 2000 and Dec, 2004 were evaluated. All the patients underwent autologous iliac bone graft and plate fixation. The radiographic parameters, including the disc height, the disc space angulation and the spinous process distance were measured at the preoperative period, post operative 1 month and the last follow up period, respectively. The clinical changes were measured using the visual analogue scale (VAS) for neck and arm pain at the preoperative and last follow up period. The correlations between the radiographic parameters and the clinical outcomes were assessed by Pearson correlation. RESULTS: There were significant changes in disc height (6.7-7.9 mm) as well as disc space angulation (kyphosis: 1.1degrees, lordosis: 3.4degrees). The reduction in the neck pain VAS score (63.9-33.1) and the arm pain VAS score (57.9-29.7) was significant. None of the correlations between the radiographic parameters and the clinical outcomes were significant (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Although the clinical outcomes improved significantly, there was no significant correlation between the radiographic parameters and clinical results after performing single level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for the degenerative cervical disease.