Anterior cervical interbody fusion with plate fixation for chronic spondylotic radiculopathy: A 2-to 8-year follow-up

In retrospectively analyzing 35 consecutive patients with chronic spondylot ic radiculopathy treated by nerve root decompression, interbody fusion (Rob inson technique), and plating, we studied the perioperative complication ra te as well as the longterm clinical and radiologic outcomes of an additiona l plate fixation in degenerative cervical disorders. After an average of 54 months (range 24-102 months), all cases were reviewed for the purpose of t his study. There were no perioperative or postoperative complications relat ed to the plate fixation. In particular, there was no infection, graft extr usion, or neurologic deterioration. A solid fusion was obtained in all case s with a single-level fusion and in 87% of the cases with a multilevel fusi on. The overall fusion rate was 94%. The clinical outcome of the patients w ith chronic radiculopathy was comparable with that in the literature, with only three patients (8.6%) having a poor result. This study demonstrated th at plate fixation can be a useful adjunct in patients undergoing interbody fusion for cervical spondylotic radiculopathy. Plate fixation seems to redu ce the rate of nonunion without additional hazards for the patient. This re port should form the basis for a prospective randomized trial to answer the question more conclusively of whether an additional plate fixation is supe rior to uninstrumented cervical fusion in degenerative disorders.