[Anterior cervical intervertebral disk operation without secondary fusion. Clinical and experimental studies]

The problems of the spontaneous fusion after cervical discectomy were studied in 12 patients. An examination after the operation showed an improvement of the neurological-radicular symptoms, but 75% of the patients complained about severe pains in the area of neck and shoulders. The cause of these complaints was found by radiological examination to be an angular kyphosis of the cervical spine combined with the subluxation of the intervertebral joints in the operated segment. The mechanical results of the ventral fusion without using interponates are being experimentally reproduced and evaluated. By comparing both methods, the method using interponates showed better results. Therefore, the discectomy with fusion using interponates should be preferred.