Cervical disk arthroplasty: patient selection.

摘要

The treatment of symptomatic cervical degenerative disk disease through an anterior transcervical retropharyngeal approach dates back to the late 1950s when the anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion was first described. Since its inception, the anterior cervical arthrodesis has evolved- into the gold standard treatment of symptomatic cervical spondy-losis. Fusion rates for cervical arthrodesis are well over 90%, and more important, the procedure boasts excellent clinical success rates. However, cervical arthrodesis is not without its shortcomings.