Cervical disc prosthesis: 2-year follow-up

OBJECTIVE: To review the medical records of patients who underwent surgery for placement of cervical disc prosthesis after two years of postoperative follow-up, showing the basic epidemiological data, the technical aspects and the incidence of complications.METHODS: Medical records of seven patients who underwent surgery for placement of cervical disc prosthesis were reviewed after two years of follow-up, at the Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo.RESULTS: The average age of patients participating in this study was 43.86 years. Six patients (85.7%) had one level approached while one patient (14.3%) had two levels addressed. The level C5-C6 has been approached in one patient (14.3%) while the C6-C7 level was addressed in five patients (71.4%). One patient (14.3%) had these two levels being addressed, C5-C6 and C6-C7. The mean operative time was 164.29±40 minutes. Three patients were hospitalized for 2 days and four for 3 days making an average of 2.57±0.535 days. Two patients (28.6%) underwent a new surgical intervention due to loosening of the prosthesis. The mean follow-up was 28.14±5.178 months (23-35 months).CONCLUSIONS: Although cervical arthroplasty appears to be a safe procedure and present promising results in our study as well as in many other studies, it requires long-term studies.

研究目的：本研究旨在对接受颈椎间盘假体（cervical disc prosthesis）植入手术且术后随访满2年的患者的病历资料进行回顾分析，以呈现其基本流行病学资料、手术操作要点及并发症发生率。
方法：本研究回顾分析了圣保罗大学医学院骨科与创伤研究所内7例接受颈椎间盘假体植入手术患者的病历资料，所有患者均完成了2年的术后随访。
结果：本研究纳入患者的平均年龄为43.86岁。其中6例患者（85.7%）接受单节段手术，1例患者（14.3%）接受双节段手术。1例患者（14.3%）的手术节段为C5-C6，5例患者（71.4%）的手术节段为C6-C7，另有1例患者（14.3%）同时累及C5-C6与C6-C7两个节段。手术平均时长为164.29±40分钟。3例患者术后住院时长为2天，4例为3天，平均住院时长为2.57±0.535天。2例患者（28.6%）因假体松动需再次手术治疗。本次研究的平均随访时长为28.14±5.178个月（范围23~35个月）。
结论：尽管颈椎间盘置换术（cervical arthroplasty）在本研究及多项既往研究中均展现出良好的安全性与可观的治疗效果，但仍需开展长期随访研究以进一步验证其临床价值。