ANTERIOR CERVICAL FUSION - OUTCOME ANALYSIS OF PATIENTS FUSED WITH AND WITHOUT ANTERIOR CERVICAL PLATES

The purpose of this study was to assess the role of the anterior cervi cal plate in the treatment of cervical spondylosis. Forty-three patien ts surgically treated for cervical spondylosis were reviewed. The tech nique for discectomy and fusion was the same for both groups (Smith-Ro binson with autologous iliac crest bone graft). Group I consisted of 2 5 consecutive patients treated with anterior cervical discectomy, auto graft fusion, and anterior cervical plate fixation (Morscher titanium hollow screw plate system). Group II consisted of 18 consecutive patie nts treated without plate fixation. The overall clinical results in th is study were not improved with the use of anterior cervical plate fix ation (Fisher's exact test, p > 0.05). The fusion rate of one-level ce rvical fusions was not improved with anterior cervical plate fixation (Fisher's exact test, p > 0.05). The overall graft complication rate ( pseudoarthrosis plus delayed union plus graft collapse) in multilevel fusions was decreased with anterior cervical plate fixation (Fisher's exact test, p < 0.01). The cost effectiveness and risk versus benefit of anterior cervical plate fixation in the surgical treatment of cervi cal spondylosis require further investigation.