Study design: A retrospective review of prospectively collected data in an academic institution. Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a new type of titanium mesh cage (TMC) in single-level, anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF). Methods: Fifty-eight patients consecutive with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) from cervical degenerative spondylosis and isolated ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament were treated with a single-level ACCF using either a new type of TMC (28 patients, group A) or the traditional TMC (30 patients, group B). We evaluated the patients for TMC subsidence, cervical lordosis (C2-C7 Cobb and Cobb of fused segments) and fusion status for a minimum of 30 months postoperatively based on spine radiographs. In addition, neurologic outcomes were evaluated using the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scores. Neck pain was evaluated using a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS). Results: The loss of height of the fused segments was less for group A than for group B (0.8 ± 0.3 vs. 2.8 ± 0.4 mm) (p 0.05), but the Cobb of fused segments immediately postoperative were significantly less for group B than for group A (p 0.05). The postoperative VAS neck pain scores for group A were significantly less than that for group B (p < 0.05); severe subsidence was correlated with neck pain. Conclusions: The new type of TMC provides comparable clinical results and fusion rates with the traditional TMC for patients undergoing single-level corpectomy. The new design TMC decreases postoperative subsidence (compared to the traditional TMC); the unique design of the new type of TMC matches the vertebral endplate morphology which appears to decrease the severity of subsidence-related neck pain in follow-up.
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