Abstract
Anterior cervical fusion is established as an operative method for cervical myelopathy or radiculopathy. However, in the long term, secondary myelopathy occurs due to adjacent spondylotic lesions and there are cases which require additional operation. We reviewed 18 patients who required additional operation after anterior cervical fusion and examined their epidemiology and X-ray features. The patients consisted of 15 males and 3 females with an average age of 54.2 years old (range : 42 to 67) and the follow-up period ranged from 1 to 10 years (mean : 6 years). In the past 15 years, anterior cervical fusion was performed on 480 patients at our institution. Of these, additional laminoplasty was performed on 14 cases (2.9%). Another four patients underwent their first operation at other institutions. The period to the additional operation ranged from eight months to 20 years, averaging five years. As the risk factor of secondary myelopathy and additional operation, male, fusion at plural levels, existing canal stenosis, and instability at the adjacent levels were suggested.
