Comparative Study between Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion by Standalone Polyetheretherketone Cages and Tricortical Bone Graft with Anterior Plate Fixation for Cervical Spondylotic Myeloradiculopathy
Authors: Islam Md. Anowarul , Shohidullah Md. , Islam Rumana , Islam Afia Ibnat , Chowdhury Abu Zaffar 
Published: November 2022

Background: Cervical spondylotic myeloradiculopathy is a common cause of neck pain and radiating arm pain. It develops when one or more of the intervening discs in the cervical spine starts to break down by wear and tear due to its degeneration. Multiple fixation modalities are used in Anterior Cervical Discectomy and interbody Fusion (ACDF), with their positive and negative sides Objectives: The objective of the study is to compare the safety and efficacy of ACDF by standalone Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages with tricortical bone graft with anterior plate fixation for cervical spondylotic myeloradiculopathy. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Orthopaedics, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka from July 2017 to June 2020. Forty patients with cervical spondylotic myeloradiculopathy diagnosed on the basis of presenting complaints, clinical examination, and investigations were enrolled in this study. Modified Odom’s criteria, visual analog scale (VAS), Nurick Grading, and Bridwell criteria for cervical spondylotic myelopathy was used for evaluation of the results. Result: Male were predominant in this study. Male-female ratio was 2.9: 1. Most of the patients were farmer (30%), C5/6 (55%) was the most commonly involved disc level. Most of the patients had clinical features of neck pain, gait difficulty, and myelopathy sign. Regarding perioperative complications transient dysphagia was seen in 5 (12.5%) patients and transient paraparesis was observed in 2 (5%) patients. Post-operative complications were paresthesia and wound infection seen in significant number of patients of both groups who were recovered within 3–6 months. According to Bridwell’s grade of fusion, Grade I fusion was observed in 16 patients (80%) in cage group and 18 patients (90%) in tricortical Indocyanine Green (ICG) with plate group. According to VAS, postoperatively pain was gradually decline and after 12 months, 12 patients (60%) patients were found in no pain group and 11 patients (55%) were found in no pain group of the tricortical ICG with plate group. There was no significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.04). According to modified Odom’s criteria functional outcome after 12 months was excellent in 18 patients (90%) and good in 2 patients (10%) in cage group and excellent in 17 patients (85%) and good in 3 patients (15%) in tricortical ICG with plate group. There was no statistically significant difference between two groups (P = 0.432). Conclusion: ACDF is the ideal technique for the treatment of cervical spondylotic myeloradiculopathy with excellent functional outcome and good fusion which could be achieved by either standalone PEEK cage or tricortical ICG with plate and there is no significant difference between two techniques. Keywords: Cervical spondylotic myeloradiculopathy, Tricortical bone graft, Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.