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Updated: Jul 19, 2025
Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion in the Ovine Model
Published on: October 5, 2009
Disc prosthesis versus fusion with cage in single level cervical degenerative spine disease - A retrospective
Teresa Haugaard Nielsen1, Kumanan Rune Nanthan2, Mikkel Mylius Rasmussen3
1Cense Spine, Department of Neurosurgery, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark; Comparative Medicine Lab, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 11, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark.
Aim:
To compare the clinical outcome of single level cervical degenerative spine disease treated surgically with motion preserving anterior cervical disc arthroplasty versus anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF).
Methods:
Patients treated with cervical disc arthroplasty at Aalborg University Hospital and ACDF at Aarhus University Hospital were matched 1:2. Primary outcome measures were Neck Disability Index (NDI), EQ-5D-3 L and Numeric rating scale (NRS) for arm- and neck pain. Data was collected by telephone interviews regarding present and retrospective data.
Results:
50 patients treated with cervical disc arthroplasty were matched to 100 ACDF patients covering November 2011 to December 2018. Mean improvements for NRS neck pain three-months postoperative, and NDI were significantly better in the cervical disc arthroplasty group, with intergroup differences of 1.56 (p = 0.02) and 5.01 (p = 0.01) respectively. A subgroup analysis of the half of the cohort with the longest follow-up (mean 7.6 years) showed, in favour of cervical disc arthroplasty, mean improvements of NDI: 8.80 (p = 0.00), EQ5D: - 0.19 (p = 0.04), NRS neck three months follow-up: 3.70 (p = 0.00) and long follow-up: 2.54 (p = 0.01) and NRS arm three months follow-up: 2.02 (p = 0.01). Radiologic examination indicated preserved mobility in 80% of the implanted protheses at 24-month post-surgical follow-up.
Conclusion:
Surgical treatment of one level degenerative cervical spine disease with cervical disc arthroplasty or anterior cervical discectomy and fusion has a similar good clinical outcome after a mean follow-up of 5.6 years. However, cervical disc arthroplasty displayed long-term superiority in the half of the cohort with the longest follow-up time averaging 7.6 years.
