A review of the utility of obtaining repeated postoperative radiographs following single-level anterior cervical decompression, fusion, and plate placement

Abstract

Object Pseudarthrosis and construct failure following single-level anterior cervical discectomy, fusion, and plate placement (ACDFP) rarely occur. Routine postoperative anteroposterior and lateral radiographs may be an inconvenience to patients and expose them to additional and potentially unnecessary radiation. No standard exists to define when patients should obtain radiographs following an ACDFP. The authors hypothesize that routinely obtaining static anteroposterior and lateral radiographs in patients who recently underwent a single-level ACDFP without new axial neck pain or other neurological complaints or symptoms is unwarranted and does not alter the long-term treatment of the patient. Methods The authors retrospectively reviewed the charts and radiographs of patients who underwent a single-level ACDFP between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2005. All patients underwent a single-level ACDFP and had routine cervical radiographs obtained at various intervals after surgery. Results Twenty-one patients underwent ACDFP at C5–6, 14 patients underwent surgery at C6–7, 11 patients at C4–5, and 7 patients at C3–4. None of the intraoperative radiographs demonstrated malposition of the graft or instrumentation. Based on subjective reporting by the patients, the vast majority (49 of 53) showed improvement in neck and arm pain, and/or neurological dysfunction following surgery. Overall, 5 patients (9%) demonstrated abnormalities on their postoperative radiographs. No patients were returned to the operating room as a result of postoperative radiographic findings. The sensitivity of plain radiographs in this patient series or the percentage of patients with new symptoms that had an abnormality related to the construct on plain radiography was 50%. The specificity of plain radiographs or the percentage of patients who were asymptomatic and had normal radiographs was 94%. The positive predictive value was 25%; that is, there was a 25% chance that patients with symptoms would have a construct abnormality on postoperative radiographs. The negative predictive value was 98%; that is, 98% of patients without symptoms will have normal radiographs. Conclusions Pseudarthrosis and construct failure following single-level ACDFP occur rarely, and patients with new symptoms following surgery are as likely to have normal radiographic findings as they are to have abnormalities identified on their postoperative plain radiographs. Routinely obtaining postoperative radiographs at regular intervals in asymptomatic patients following single-level ACDFP does not appear to be warranted.