What is cervical pseudoarthrosis?
Cervical pseudoarthrosis refers to a failure for bones to grow together (“fuse”) after a fusion surgery in the cervical spine (neck), such as an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) or a posterior cervical fusion.
What are the symptoms?
Failure for vertebrae to fuse after a spinal fusion procedure often causes neck pain. The affected vertebrae or hardware can even loosen or fracture over time. Patients with pseudoarthrosis may also experience neurologic symptoms from cervical radiculopathy or cervical stenosis.
How is cervical pseudoarthrosis diagnosed?
Cervical pseudoarthrosis can usually be diagnosed with a careful history and physical exam and a CT scan and X-rays of the neck.
How is cervical pseudoarthrosis treated?
Fortunately, cervical pseudoarthrosis is usually treatable with surgery. Options might include a revision of the original surgery or the addition of an ACDF, CORUS cervical fusion, or posterior cervical fusion.
My ACDF patient guide and CORUS patient guide describe those procedures in detail.
How is the right surgery chosen?
Each of these options has benefits and drawbacks. The right surgery for you will depend on your symptoms, your previous surgery, the number of spinal levels affected, and factors related to your medical history, age, and spinal anatomy.
Should I meet with you?
If you live near Denver and have symptoms of cervical pseudoarthrosis from a prior surgery, please consider meeting me in consultation to learn more about your treatment options.