Comparison of cervical disc arthroplasty with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

The clinical outcome of cervical disc arthroplasty for cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is still controversial. The authors retrospectively compared the intermediate term clinical outcome of cervical disc arthroplasty and traditional anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Seventy-six cases of single-level CSM with a minimum follow-up of two years were retrospectively analyzed. Thirty-seven patients underwent single-level cervical disc arthroplasty (Bryan disc: 12 cases; Prestige LP disc: 25 cases), while the other 39 patients underwent single-level ACDF. Significant improvement in SF-36 physical/ mental component scores and NDI score was found in both groups (p < 0.05); however, the arthroplasty group had significantly greater score improvement at each follow-up time point (p < 0.05). The JOA score and Nurick grade improved significantly at each time point in both groups (p < 0.05), but there were no significant differences between the groups (p > 0.05). The range of motion (surgical level and C2C7) remained unchanged in the arthroplasty group (p > 0.05), whereas it decreased significantly in the ACDF group (p < 0.05). The arthroplasty group had a lower incidence of complications than the ACDF group. The intermediate outcomes of cervical disc arthroplasty compared favourably to those of ACDF. Arthroplasty avoids complications from spinal fusion by preserving mobility.