RESUMEN
PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical and radiological results of the operative management of three-column uncomplicated type «B¼ subaxial injures treated with a one-level cervical corpectomy with an expandable cage. METHODS: This study included 72 patients with a three-column uncomplicated type «B¼ subaxial injures who met the inclusion criteria, underwent a one-level cervical corpectomy with an expandable cage at one of three neurosurgical departments between 2005 and 2020, and were followed up for clinical and radiological outcomes at a minimum 3-yr follow-up. RESULTS: There was a decrease in the VAS pain score from an average of 80 mm to 7 mm (p = 0.03); a decrease in the average NDI score from 62 to 14% (p = 0.01); excellent and good outcomes according to Macnab's scale were 93% (n = 67/72). There was an average change in the cervical lordosis (Cobb method) from -9.10 to -15.40 (p = 0.007), without significant loss of lordosis (p = 0.27). There was no significant degeneration of the adjacent levels by 3 years post-op. The fusion rate, using the Cervical Spine Research Society criteria, was poor: it was 62.5% (n = 45/72), and using the CT criteria, it was 65.3% (n = 47/72). 15.4% patients (n = 11/72) suffered complications. Statistical difference between the fusion and pseudoarthrosis (according to X-ray criteria) subgroups showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the smoking status, diabetes, chronic steroid use, cervical injury level, subtypes of AO type B subaxial injuries and types of expandable cage systems. CONCLUSIONS: One-level cervical corpectomy with an expandable cage, despite a poor fusion rate, can be considered a feasible and relatively safe method for treating three-column uncomplicated subaxial type «B¼ injures, with the benefit of immediate stability, anatomical reduction, and direct decompression of the spinal cord. While no one in our series had any catastrophic complications, we did note a high complication rate.
