Management Considerations for Cervical Corpectomy: Updated Indications and Future Directions

Together, lower back and neck pain are among the leading causes of acquired disability worldwide and have experienced a marked increase over the past 25 years. Paralleled with the increasing aging population and the rise in chronic disease, this trend is only predicted to contribute to the growing global burden. In the context of cervical neck pain, this symptom is most often a manifestation of cervical degenerative disc disease (DDD). Traditionally, multilevel neck pain related to DDD that is recalcitrant to both physical and medical therapy can be treated with a procedure known as cervical corpectomy. Presently, there are many flavors of cervical corpectomy; however, the overarching goal is the removal of the pain-generating disc via the employment of the modern anterior approach. In this review, we will briefly detail the pathophysiological mechanism behind DDD, overview the development of the anterior approach, and discuss the current state of treatment options for said pathology. Furthermore, this review will also add to the current body of literature surrounding updated indications, surgical techniques, and patient outcomes related to cervical corpectomy. Finally, our discussion ends with highlighting the future direction of cervical corpectomy through the introduction of the "skip corpectomy" and distractable mesh cages.