Manual preoperative tracheal retraction exercise decreases the occurrence of postoperative oropharyngeal dysphagia after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion

Objective:Preoperative tracheal retraction exercise (TRE) to minimize the occurrence of postoperative oropharyngeal dysphagia after anterior cervical spine surgery.Methods:A total of 220 patients admitted for elective anterior cervical spine surgery from January 2013 to December 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were allocated into two groups: TRE group and control group (without TRE). Modified dysphagia scoring system (MDSS) was used for evaluating the presence and severity of dysphagia symptoms at 1 week and 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery. Demographics such as age, gender, smoking, type of procedure, number of levels operated, duration of surgery, intraoperative blood loss, and instrumentation were analyzed. The clinical outcomes in both groups were compared with Neck Disability Index (NDI), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for arm and neck pain, and Odom’s criteria for global outcome.Results:In the first week postoperatively, 86 patients (39.1%) developed dysphagia, which decreased to 72 (3...