Abstract
The advantages of arthroplasty include maintenance of motion, avoiding nonunions, and avoiding plate and screw complications such as backout, esophageal erosion, and periplate ossification. Thus far, the purported long-term benefit of reducing the incidence of adjacent segment pathology has not been born out in FDA-IDE trials reporting on up to 5-year results. Only one disc showed a difference. There is, however, some unpublished data that suggests that at > 5 years, another arthroplasty has benefits over ACDF. In this study, I will review the available data.
None declared