Application of Ultrasonic Bone Osteotome in Anterior Cervical Disc Resection and Fusion Surgery

To investigate the application skills and importance of ultrasonic bone osteotome in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgery.

Between January 2018 and December 2020, the data of 97 patients who underwent anterior cervical disc resection and fusion (ACDF) in our hospital were collected and retrospectively analyzed. According to the main instruments for decompression of the intervertebral space, we divided the 97 patients into ultrasonic bone osteotome (UBS) group and traditional high-speed drill (HSD) group. The intraoperative indexes selected for comparison between the 2 groups were intervertebral space decompression time, intraoperative blood loss, incidence and types of complications within the 2 groups of patients, Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores, and JOA improvement rates of the 2 groups of patients before and after surgery.

There was no statistical difference in general data such as age, sex, duration of symptoms, and surgical segment between the 2 groups (P > 0.05). Intervertebral decompression time, intraoperative blood loss, and complications in the UBS group were less than those in the HSD group (P < 0.05). The JOA scores of the 2 groups of patients were significantly improved after the operation compared with scores from before the operation, with results being statistically significant (P < 0.05), however, there was no difference in clinical effect between the 2 groups at each follow-up time point (P > 0.05).

This study shows that in ACDF surgery, UBS is more efficient than HSD and can effectively shorten the operation time and reduce the amount of bleeding and the incidence of complications.