Long-term follow-up of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with bioabsorbable plates and screws

• Long-term effectiveness of new bioabsorbable plates and screws is tested.
• High fusion rate and stability is observed without any severe complications.
• It has been proven easy handling and good tolerance of these materials.

ObjectiveAnterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) is an accepted technique for the management of cervical spinal degenerative disease. Recently, new resorbable materials have been proposed for the anterior cervical fusion to eliminate some of the disadvantages and complications of metal plates. The aim of our study was to evaluate the long-term clinical results of the ACDF implants made out of bioabsorbable materials.MethodsWe performed a retrospective descriptive study of a series of 17 ACDF patients operated with the Inion S-1™ resorbable screws and plates (made out of biodegradable copolymers composed of l-lactic acid and d,l-lactic acid 80/20) 5–7 years ago. The mean age of the patients was 45 years. A single-level procedure was carried out in 13 patients and a double-level procedure in four patients, and the most commonly fused level was C5–C6. Clinical background, preoperative and postoperative symptoms, previous trauma, complications, radiographic fusion and condition of the prevertebral space (preoperative and postoperative) were analyzed.ResultsWe observed a good fusion rate and stability using resorbable plates and screws. None of the patients had associated severe complications such as adjacent tissue edema or infection, or had to be reoperated due to failure or migration of the used implants.ConclusionsThe results of this retrospective clinical long-term follow up demonstrate that cervical fusion can be successfully achieved using resorbable implants.