Results to 4-year follow-up of the treatment of the cervical stenosis by corpectomy, titanium mesh cage and anterior plate fixation

Abstract Background Cervical spondylotic myelopathy is caused by cervical stenosis. Several techniques have been described for the treatment of multilevel disease, such as the anterior corpectomy with titanium mesh cage and anterior cervical plate placement, which has the advantage of performing a wider decompression and using the same bone as graft. However, it has caused controversy since the collapse of the mesh cage continues being a major limitation of this procedure. Material and method A prospective 4-year follow-up study was conducted in 7 patients diagnosed with cervical stenosis, who were treated surgically by one level corpectomy with titanium mesh cage and anterior cervical plate placement, evaluating them by radiographs and clinical scales. Results 7 patients, 5 women and 2 males were studied. The most common level was C5 corpectomy ( n = 4). The Neck Disability Index (NDI) preoperative average was 30.01±24.32 and 4-year postoperative 16.90±32.05, with p = 0.801. The preoperative and 4-year postoperative Nurick was 3.28±0.48 and 3.14±1.21 respectively, with p = 0.766. Preoperative lordosis was 14.42±8.03 and 4-year postoperative 17±11.67 degrees, with p = 0.660. The immediate postoperative and 4-year postoperative subsidence was 2.69±2.8 and 6.11±1.61 mm respectively, with p = 0.0001. Conclusions Despite the small sample, the subsidence of the mesh cage is common in this procedure. No statistically significant changes were observed in the lordosis or Nurick scale and NDI.