Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion with a Compressive C-JAWS Staple.

Background: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion is currently the most commonly used technique in cervical surgery. But the implantation of a traditional plate is time-consuming and exposes the patient to additional adverse events. In this study, we analyzed results in patients who underwent anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with C-JAWS fixation. The C-JAWS device is a new cervical compressive staple developed to stabilize the spacer.

Methods: At our department, between January 2012 and December 2013, nine consecutive patients with cervical spondylopathy underwent an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion process in which we used a polyether ether ketone cervical spacer prefilled with bone substitute and secured with a cervical compressive staple. The Neck Disability Index (NDI) score and visual analog score (VAS) for neck and arm pain, as well as radiographic examinations, were adopted to assess postoperative outcome and fusion.

Results: Bony fusion was observed in all of the nine patients, and no serious surgery-related or implant-related complications were observed during the operation or in the postoperative period. The average operative time was 60.3 ± 11.6 min. The average hospital stay was 3.2 ± 0.8 days. The average skin incision length was 3.0 ± 0.3 cm. The average follow-up was 18.4 ± 4.3 months. At the last follow-up, the NDI had changed from the baseline value of 23.4 ± 10.3 to 7.1 ± 4.8, and the VAS values for neck and arm pain had changed from 6.1 ± 1.0 and 4.6 ± 1.6,respectively, to 2.3 ± 1.7 and 2.4 ± 1.1, respectively. The patients' subjective satisfaction was excellent in six and good in three.

Conclusions: Without screws, this low-profile design compressive staple, the C-JAWS, performed well in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgeries.