Anterior cervical interbody fusion with a titanium box cage: early radiological assessment of fusion and subsidence.

Background: The use of stand-alone cervical interbody cages in anterior cervical discectomy with fusion (ACDF) has become popular, but high subsidence rates have been reported in the literature.

Objective: The authors present short-term radiological results of a titanium box cage with regard to fusion and subsidence. Reliable fusion and lack of subsidence may influence long-term clinical results. Early radiological data are necessary before implementation of this device on a larger scale can be accepted.

Methods: Retrospective radiological quality assessment study. Methods: ACDF using the titanium cage was performed in 71 consecutive patients at 106 levels. Diagnoses included cervical disc disease (57) and cervical spinal stenosis (14) after failed conservative treatment. Methods: Subsidence and kyphosis were assessed on lateral cervical radiographs made directly postoperative and at 3- and 6-month follow-up. At 6-month follow-up, lateral flexion-extension radiographs were made to assess fusion. Methods: Subsidence of the cage was defined as a decrease in total vertical height of the two fused vertebral bodies as measured on the lateral cervical radiographs made 3 and 6 months postoperatively compared with the directly postoperative radiographs. Segmental kyphosis was measured as the angle between the posterior borders of the two vertebral bodies on the lateral radiograph.

Results: No patients were lost to follow-up. Fusion was achieved after 6 months in all patients. At 3 and 6 months postoperative the same 10 cages (each in a different patient) had subsided. The C6-C7 level was significantly more frequently involved compared with all other levels. A segmental kyphotic alignment was observed in five patients at the C6-C7 level and in one patient at the C4-C5 level.

Conclusions: For patients with cervical disc disease, the high subsidence tendency of the cage into the end plate of predominantly C7 is a disturbing phenomenon found in this study. A modified cage design that improves and extends contact with the inferior surface could be expected to reduce subsidence into C7.