This 2008 narrative review systematically catalogs the incidence, prevention, and management of adverse events associated with anterior cervical spine surgery — diskectomy, corpectomy, disk arthroplasty, and BMP-augmented fusion — organized by timing from intraoperative through the intermediate postoperative period.
When planning multilevel corpectomy, the 71% graft failure rate at three levels demands simultaneous posterior instrumented fusion rather than anterior buttress plate alone.
When you see new postoperative neurologic deficit or neck swelling after anterior cervical surgery, emergent MRI or CT myelogram is indicated to rule out epidural hematoma or graft displacement before attributing deficits to cord edema.
This 2008 narrative review systematically catalogs the incidence, prevention, and management of adverse events associated with anterior cervical spine surgery — diskectomy, corpectomy, disk arthroplasty, and BMP-augmented fusion — organized by timing from intraoperative through the intermediate postoperative period.
When planning multilevel corpectomy, the 71% graft failure rate at three levels demands simultaneous posterior instrumented fusion rather than anterior buttress plate alone.
When you see new postoperative neurologic deficit or neck swelling after anterior cervical surgery, emergent MRI or CT myelogram is indicated to rule out epidural hematoma or graft displacement before attributing deficits to cord edema.