Complications of Anterior Fusion of the Cervical Spine Using Plate

(Objective) Complications that arise follwing anterior fusion of the cervical spine using a plate are an important clinical issue. We therefore monitored patients who underwent anterior fusion at our hospital and investigated complications associated with this surgery. (Subjects) Subjects were 126 patients (86 male, 40 female ; age range 17-78 years, mean age 52.5) who underwent anterior fusion of the cervical spine using a plate between November 1993 and June 2003. The duration of postoperative follow-up ranged from 0.5 to 80 months (mean : 15.8 months). The breakdown of the 126 patients was as follws : disk herniation (n=60), spondylotic myelopathy (n=27), dislocation fracture (n=18), vertebral body fracture (n=6), spondylotic radiculopathy (n=5), neoplasm (n=2), metastatic neoplasm (n=2), and others (n=6). The CSLP (AO) plate was used in 121 patients, PEAK plate in three patients, and Caspar plate in two patients. (Results) The following six complications were documented : postoperative screw damage (n=3), plate damage (n=2), discomfort in swallowing (n=2) and loosened screw (n=1). However, no plate-related complications were observed during surgery.