Cervical anterior approach for treating multilevel cervical spondylosis

Objective To investigate the clinical outcomes of cervical anterior operation for multilevel cervical spondylosis. Methods 33 cases with multilevel cervical spondylosis were retrospectively studied. 14 underwent multilevel anterior cervical discectomies and fusion, and 19 cases underwent selectively anterior corpectomy and fusion, and all of them were performed bone grafting and anterior cervical spine locking plate fixation. Results The average follow-up was 19 months. The preoperative JOA score of an cases ranged from 2 to 14 points,with an average score of 8.88±0.64 points.Postoperation JOA score was from 8 to 16 points,with an average of score of 14.10±0.39 points. The difference was significant(P0.01). The results were excellent and good in 21 cases, improved in 11 and worse in 1. The improvement rate ranged from 10% to 93.3%,with an average of 61%. Conclusions The operation of anterior decompression with bone grafting and plate fixation is indicated for multilevel cervical spondylosis without long segments of compression in the cervical spine due to ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.