Tag: Range of motion

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Does Baseline Facet Arthropathy Influence Early Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes After Cervical Disc Replacement?

Neurosurgery 96:87–95, 2025

Severe facet arthropathy is generally a contraindication to undergoing cervical disc replacement (CDR) due to associated instability and potentially limited improvement in neck pain caused by arthropathy. This study evaluates the influence of facet arthropathy on radiographic/early clinical outcomes after CDR.

METHODS: One/two-level CDR patients from a single surgeon’s prospectively maintained database created 2 cohorts based on facet arthropathy: grade 0-1 or 2-3 (milder/moderate arthropathy). Patient-reported outcome measures for neck disability, neck/arm pain, depressive burden, mental/physical health/function were obtained preoperatively and through final follow-up (average follow-up: 8.5 ± 6.5 months). Preoperative/postoperative radiographs measured segmental lordosis and C2-C7/segmental range of motion (ROM) and determined facet grade for each operative level. Demographic differences, perioperative variables, baseline patient-reported outcomes, and intercohort differences/ changes for postoperative patient-reported/radiographic outcomes were determined.

RESULTS: Of 161 patients, 100 were in the milder arthropathy group. There were no differences in baseline patientreported outcomes. Patients with moderate arthropathy reported superior 6-week 12-Item Veterans Rand Mental/ Physical Composite Scores (P ≤ .047, all). By final follow-up, moderate patients reported better 12-Item Veterans Rand Mental/Physical Composite Scores/Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System-Physical Function/Patient-Health Questionnaire-9 (P ≤ .049, all). Cohorts reported similar improvements in all patientreported outcomes by 6 weeks/final follow-up. Those with more severe facet arthropathy had significantly shorter preoperative disc heights (P < .001). Accounting for baseline disc height differences, by final follow-up, moderate patients had lower segmental ROM (P = .036). There were no significant differences in radiographic measurement changes (P ≥ .264, all).

CONCLUSION: Postoperatively, patients with moderate facet arthropathy reported lower depressive burden, better mental health/physical function, and lower segmental ROM. However, this did not translate to inferior short-term clinical outcomes. Further study should be conducted on the relationship between clinical/radiographic outcomes in CDR patients with facet arthropathy.

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Longitudinal assessment of segmental motion of the cervical spine following total disc arthroplasty: a comparative analysis of devices

J Neurosurg Spine 37:556–562, 2022

Total disc arthroplasty (TDA) has been shown to be an effective and safe treatment for cervical degenerative disc disease at short- and midterm follow-up. However, there remains a paucity of literature reporting the differences between individual prosthesis designs with regard to device performance. In this study, the authors evaluated the longterm maintenance of segmental range of motion (ROM) at the operative cervical level across a diverse range of TDA devices.

METHODS In this study, the authors retrospectively evaluated all consecutive patients who underwent 1- or 2-level cervical TDA between 2005 and 2020 at a single institution. Patients with a minimum of 6 months of follow-up and lateral flexion/extension radiographs preoperatively, 2 months postoperatively, and at final follow-up were included. Radiographic measurements included static segmental lordosis, segmental range of motion (ROM) on flexion/extension, global cervical (C2–7) ROM on flexion/extension, and disc space height. The paired t-test was used to evaluate improvement in radiographic parameters. Subanalysis between devices was performed using one-way ANCOVA. Significance was determined at p < 0.05.

RESULTS A total of 85 patients (100 discs) were included, with a mean patient age of 46.01 ± 8.82 years and followup of 43.56 ± 39.36 months. Implantations included 22 (22.00%) M6-C, 51 (51.00%) Mobi-C, 14 (14.00%) PCM, and 13 (13.00%) ProDisc-C devices. There were no differences in baseline radiographic parameters between groups. At 2 months postoperatively, PCM provided significantly less segmental lordosis (p = 0.037) and segmental ROM (p = 0.039). At final follow-up, segmental ROM with both the PCM and ProDisc-C devices was significantly less than that with the M6-C and Mobi-C devices (p = 0.015). From preoperatively to 2 months postoperatively, PCM implantation led to a significant loss of lordosis (p < 0.001) and segmental ROM (p = 0.005) relative to the other devices. Moreover, a significantly greater decline in segmental ROM from 2 months postoperatively to final follow-up was seen with ProDiscC, while segmental ROM increased significantly over time with Mobi-C (p = 0.049).

CONCLUSIONS Analysis by TDA device brand demonstrated that motion preservation differs depending on disc design. Certain devices, including M6-C and Mobi-C, improve ROM on flexion/extension from preoperatively to postoperatively and continue to increase slightly at final follow-up. On the other hand, devices such as PCM and ProDisc-C contributed to greater segmental stiffness, with a gradual decline in ROM seen with ProDisc-C. Further studies are needed to understand how much segmental ROM is ideal after TDA for preservation of physiological cervical kinematics.

 

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Modified Laminoplasty Preserving the Posterior Deep Extensor Insertion into C2 Improves Clinical and Radiologic Results Compared with Conventional Laminoplasty: A Meta-Analysis

World Neurosurg. (2018) 111:157-165

Whether modified laminoplasty is better than conventional laminoplasty is unclear. Thus, a meta-analysis comparing the outcomes of preserving or repairing the posterior deep extensor insertion to C2 in laminoplasty was conducted for patients with multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy (MCSM).

METHODS: Several electronic databases were chosen to search for relevant studies. The primary indices included preoperative and postoperative Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores, JOA recovery rate, muscle atrophy rate, preoperative and postoperative range of motion (ROM), ROM decrease rate, and incidence of axial pain. Results are expressed as odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals for the dichotomous outcomes and mean differences for continuous outcomes.

RESULTS: Eight studies involving 763 patients were included in this study. The postoperative cervical ROM was significantly higher in the modified group (P [ 0.01, MD [ 3.0 [0.66, 5.35]), as was the cervical posterior muscle volume (P [ 0.02, MD [ 28.28 [4.42, 52.3]) and the operation time (MD [ L45.04, 95% CI L49.79, L40.29; P < 0.01). The incidence of axial symptoms in the modified group was lower than that in the conventional group (P < 0.01, OR 0.28 [0.17, 0.46]), as was the rate of decrease of cervical ROM (P [ 0.004, MD [ L6.72 [L11.25, 2.19]). There was no significant difference (P > 0.05) between the groups in blood loss, preoperative and postoperative JOA score, or JOA recovery rate.

CONCLUSIONS: Modified laminoplasty had shorter operation times, a lower incidence of axial pain, a higher cervical ROM, and a lower atrophy rate compared with conventional laminoplasty. The clinical and radiologic results of modified laminoplasty have been partly superior to those of conventional laminoplasty to date.

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Four-year results of a prospective single-arm study on 200 semi-constrained total cervical disc prostheses

activ-c-xray

J Neurosurg Spine 25:556–565, 2016

Recent studies have described encouraging outcomes after cervical total disc replacement (cTDR), but there are also critical debates regarding the long-term effects of heterotopic ossification (HO) and the prevalence of adjacent-level degeneration. The aim in this paper was to provide 4-year clinical and radiographic outcome results on the activ C disc prosthesis.

Methods A total of 200 subjects underwent single-level activ C (Aesculap AG) implantation between C-3 and C-7 for the treatment of symptomatic degenerative disc disease. Clinical and radiographic assessments were performed preoperatively, intraoperatively, at discharge, and again at 6 weeks, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 4 years. Radiographic evaluations were done by an independent core laboratory using a specific software for quantitative motion analysis.

Results Neck Disability Index (NDI) and visual analog scale (VAS) score for neck and arm pain decreased significantly from baseline to the 4-year follow-up. The mean improvement for NDI was 20, for VAS severity and frequency of neck pain 26.4 and 28, and for VAS severity and frequency of arm pain 30.7 and 35.1, respectively. The neurological situation improved for the majority of patients (86.4%); 76.1% of cases were asymptomatic. Subsequent surgical interventions were reported in 7% of the cases, including device removals in 3%. In 2.5% a subsidence greater than 3 mm was recorded; 1 of these cases also had a migration greater than 3 mm. No device displacement, expulsion, disassembly, loose or fractured device, osteolysis, or facet joint degeneration at the index level was observed. Segmental lordotic alignment changed from -2.4° preoperatively to -6.2° at 4 years, and postoperative height was maintained during the follow-up. Advanced HO (Grade III and IV) was present in 27.1% of the cases; 82.4% showed segmental mobility. A progression of radiographic adjacent-segment degeneration occurred in 28.2%, but only 4.5% required surgical treatment.

Conclusions The activ C is a safe and effective device for cervical disc replacement confirming the encouraging results after cTDR.

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New Posterior Atlantoaxial Restricted Non-Fusion Fixation for Atlantoaxial Instability

New Posterior Atlantoaxial Restricted Non-Fusion Fixation for Atlantoaxial Instability

Neurosurgery 78:735–741, 2016

Loss of axial rotation and lateral bending after atlantoaxial fusion reduces a patient’s quality of life. Therefore, effective, nonfusion fixation alternatives are needed for atlantoaxial instability.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the initial stability and function of posterior atlantoaxial restricted nonfusion fixation (PAARNF), a new protocol, using cadaveric cervical spines compared with the intact state, destabilization, and posterior C1-C2 rod fixation.

METHODS: Cervical areas C0 through C3 were used from 6 cadaveric spines to test flexion-extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation range of motion (ROM). With the use of a machine, 1.5-Nm torque at a rate of 0.1 Nm/s was used and held for 10 seconds. The specimens were loaded 3 times, and data were collected in the third cycle and tested in the following sequence: (1) intact, (2) destabilization (using a type II odontoid fracture model), (3) destabilization with PAARNF (PAARNF group), and (4) rod implantation (rod group). The order of tests for the PAARNF and rod groups was randomly assigned.

RESULTS: The average flexion-extension ROM in the PAARNF group was 7.44 6 2.05, which was significantly less than in the intact (P = .00) and destabilization (P = .00) groups but not significantly different from that of the rod group (P = .07). The average lateral bending ROM (10.59 6 2.33; P = .00) and axial rotation ROM (38.79 6 13.41; P = .00) of the PAARNF group were significantly greater than in the rod group. However, the values of the PAARNF group showed no significant differences compared with those of the intact group.

CONCLUSION: PAARNF restricted atlantoaxial flexion-extension but preserved axial rotation and lateral bending at the atlantoaxial joint in a type II odontoid fracture model. However, it should not be used clinically until further studies have been performed to test the long-term effects of this procedure.

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