Table 2.
Patient Characteristics, Surgical Characteristics, Dysphagia Improvement, and Complications of Those Undergoing Primary Anterior Cervical Osteophyte Resection for Dysphagia.a
| Patient | Age and Sex | Clinical Follow-up (Radiographic Follow-up, in Years) | Previous Surgery | Dysphagia Severity and FOSS | Operative Levels | Fusion | Improvement in Dysphagia | Osteophyte Regrowth | Complication |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 76, M | 2.7 (2.7) | Tracheostomy and anterior neck skin grafting | Severe, IV | C3-C4 | No | No | Left-sided vocal cord paralysis (chronic) and right-side vocal cord paresis (acute), PEG | |
| 2 | 67, M | 5.0 (5.0) | Moderate, II | C3-C5 | No | Yes | C3-4 and C4-5 (11 mm at 5 years) | ||
| 3 | 62, M | 9.8 (1.8) | Severe, IV | C3-C7 | C3-7 PSF | Yes | Pseudoarthrosis at C6-7 | ||
| 4 | 64, F | 4.7 (4.0) | Thyroidectomy | Moderate, III | C2-T1 | C5-6 ACDF | Yes | Esophageal injury leading to deep infection, diskitis/osteomyelitis, and pseudoarthrosis | |
| 5 | 77, M | 3.3 (2.2) | C4-5 ACDF | Severe, IV | C5-C6 | No | Some | C5-6 (12 mm at 2 years) | Aspiration pneumonia |
| 6 | 76, M | 5.9 (0.9) | Thyroid surgery | Moderate, IV | C3-C7 | No | Yes | ||
| 7 | 71, M | 6.1 (0.3) | Severe, V | C2-C3 | No | Yes | |||
| 8 | 70, M | 6.2 (3.5) | Moderate, II | C4-C5 | No | Yes | C4-5 (7 mm at 3.5 years) | ||
| 9 | 66, M | 7.2 | Moderate, II | C4-C7 | No | Yes | |||
| 10 | 79, M | 5.7 (5.0) | Moderate, III | C3-C4 | C3-4 ACDF | Yes | C2-3 (6 mm at 5 years) | ||
| 11 | 65, M | 2.0 (0.3) | C5-7 ACDF | Moderate, II | C5-C6 | No | Yes | ||
| 12 | 63, M | 2.4 (1.3) | Moderate, II | C4-C6 | C4-5 ACDF | Yes | PEG | ||
| 13 | 88, M | 2.1 (0.3) | Severe, IV | C2-C7 | No | Some | PEG | ||
| 14 | 75, M | 2.1 (0.3) | Moderate, III | C2-T1 | No | Yes | |||
| 15 | 67, F | 7.3 (6.5) | C5-6 ACDF | Moderate, III | C3-5 | No | Some | C2-3 and C3-4 (13 mm at 6.5 years) | |
| 16 | 54, M | 5.5 (5.0) | Mild, II | C2-6 | C2-6 ACF | Yes, and improved breathing | |||
| 17 | 75, M | 5.1 (0.2) | C4-5 ACDF | Severe, III | C3-4 and C5-6 | No | Yes | Aspiration pneumonia | |
| 18 | 75, M | 3.7 | Severe, IV | C3-4 | No | Yes | |||
| 19 | 72, M | 2.6 | Moderate, III | C3-5 | No | Yes | Superior laryngeal nerve injury with dysphonia |
Abbreviations: FOSS, Functional Outcome Swallowing Scale; M, male; F, female; PEG, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy; PSF, posterior spinal fusion; ACDF, anterior cervical discectomy and fusion; ACF, anterior cervical fusion.
a Bold text in the Osteophyte Regrowth column indicates asymptomatic regrowth of osteophytes.