Granulomatous Reaction on a Double-Level Cervical Total Disc Arthroplasty

Cervical total disc arthroplasty (TDA), or cervical artificial disc replacement, is an alternative technique to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for treatment of symptomatic degenerative cervical spine disease. The main goal of TDA is to maintain cervical motion and lower the risk of deterioration of adjacent levels. Granuloma formation on a cervical TDA is exceptional.

A 48-year-old woman with left cervicobrachialgia underwent a double-level TDA (M6-C Artificial Cervical Disc) on C5-C6 and C6-C7 at another hospital in 2010. Two years later, she reported a recurrence of cervicalgia, which was refractory to conservative treatment by rigid collar and analgesics. Cervical magnetic resonance imaging suggested a granulomatous formation on the C6-C7 prosthesis. She underwent removal of the C6-C7 prosthesis, which showed a rupture with nylon thread extrusion. An arthrodesis with plate was subsequently performed. Follow-up showed improvement of her clinical status. Histopathologic studies showed a giant cell granulomatous formation in contact with nylon threads described in hip, shoulder, and ankle arthroplasty. It has been described in 6 cases following lumbar TDA and 2 cases following cervical TDA.

We report a third case of granulomatous reaction on nylon thread extrusion after partial breakdown of a prosthesis for cervical TDA.