Surgical outcome of one level anterior cervical discectomy with and without fusion. comparative study

ABSTRACT

Sixty patients having one level cervical disc prolapse were surgically treated through anterior approach cervical discectomy with and without fusion. The main symptoms and signs were neck pain [88.3%], radicular pain [96.7%], motor deficits [26.7%] and sensory deficits other than pain [70%]. Twenty-six patients had C5-C6, 19 had C4-C5, 12 had C6-C7 and three had C3-C4 disc herniation. Standard anterior approach cervical discectomy was performed for all cases. Autologous iliac crest bone grafts were used for 26 cases, while the rest of the patients did not receive grafts. The follow up period ranged from six months to three years [average 13 months]. The overall outcome was excellent in 20 patients, good in 32, fair in five and poor in three cases. There was no statistical significant difference between the outcome of both techniques [with and without fusion]