Published online May 26, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i15.4776
Peer-review started: December 5, 2021
First decision: December 27, 2021
Revised: January 7, 2022
Accepted: March 26, 2022
Article in press: March 26, 2022
Published online: May 26, 2022
Processing time: 170 Days and 4.7 Hours
The conventional anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) + internal fixation using a titanium plate is no longer adequate. The invention of the ACDF with a self-locking fusion cage (ROI-C) has effectively decreased the incidence of postoperative complications after ACDF and has drawn increasing attention.
To evaluate the efficacy of ROI-C.
To observe the outcomes of cervical degenerative disc (CDD) disease treated by ACDF with ROI-C.
Ninety patients with CDD disease treated at our hospital from March 2019 to March 2021 were included. They were divided into two groups (n = 45 in each) using a random number table. Patients in the control group received ACDF plus internal fixation with a titanium plate. Those in the observation group received ACDF + ROI-C placement. The two groups of patients were compared in terms of surgical parameters, pain, cervical spine function, range of motion, and complications.
The two groups of patients showed no significant differences in surgical time, blood loss, drainage volume, and length of hospital stay (P > 0.05). No significant differences in the visual analogue scale (VAS), Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA), and neck disability index (NDI) scores were observed between the two groups before surgery (P > 0.05). The JOA scores in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in cervical disc height and the range of motion of the superior or inferior adjacent vertebrae between the two groups before surgery (P > 0.05). The range of motion of both the superior and inferior adjacent vertebrae was significantly smaller in the observation group than in the control group (P < 0.05). The incidence of complications was only 2.22% in the observation group compared to 15.56% in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05).
The use of ROI-C with internal fixation in ACDF had similar efficacy to the use of conventional titanium plates in ACDF for CDD disease. However, cervical spine function restoration after using ROI-C was better than the control. The range of motion of the cervical spine was not increased significantly after using ROI-C, but pain and complications were less common. The ROI-C featuring the VerteBRIDGE plate is worthy of clinical popularization.
The long-term efficacy of ROI-C still needs to be evaluated.