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60th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Neurosurgery (DGNC)
Joint Meeting with the Benelux countries and Bulgaria

German Society of Neurosurgery (DGNC)

24 - 27 May 2009, Münster

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Multisegmental fusion in cervical degenerative disc disease – with or without plate fixation?

Meeting Abstract

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  • U. Kramer - Klinik für Neurochirurgie, Vivantes Netzwerk für Gesundheit GmbH, Klinikum im Friedrichshain, Berlin
  • J. Stein - Klinik für Neurochirurgie, Vivantes Netzwerk für Gesundheit GmbH, Klinikum im Friedrichshain, Berlin
  • D. Moskopp - Klinik für Neurochirurgie, Vivantes Netzwerk für Gesundheit GmbH, Klinikum im Friedrichshain, Berlin

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie. 60. Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Neurochirurgie (DGNC), Joint Meeting mit den Benelux-Ländern und Bulgarien. Münster, 24.-27.05.2009. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2009. DocP03-05

doi: 10.3205/09dgnc276, urn:nbn:de:0183-09dgnc2765

Published: May 20, 2009

© 2009 Kramer et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.

Outline

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Objective: Multilevel anterior fusions in cases of degenerative disc disease are normally carried out with an additional plate fixation. We examined if kyphosis develops after surgery without plate fixation. The other question was if the fusion of all vertebral bodies is sufficient after surgery without plates.

Methods: We operated on 588 patients with degenerative disc disease in the time from 01-01-2003 until 31-10-2008. Of these, 201 patients were operated in two levels, 38 patients in three levels and two patients in four levels. We performed the anterior microscopic discectomy with implantation of a disc spacer. No patient got an additional plate fixation system.

Results: All patients with surgery in three or more levels were examined in 2008. There were no postoperative complications. In the CT-scans done between 12 and 65 months after surgery there were 2 kyphoses. Signs of spondylodesis were to be seen 12 months after surgery.

Conclusions: It is not necessary to fix the cervical vertebral column with an additional plate system in cases of multisegmental anterior fusion in degenerative disc disease.