This procedure is very similar to the ACDF except that either a part or all of the vertebral bone is removed along with the discs next to it. This procedure is required if the disc herniation has migrated behind the bone or there are bone spurs behind the vertebral bone that cannot be reached and removed by doing a discectomy alone. This procedure is also necessary in cases of severe cervical kyphosis where doing discectomy alone will not restore normal alignment.
CASE- Vertebral body fracture
The patient was a 28 year old man who fell from a height of 8 feet. He had a fracture of the C3 vertebral body (RED arrow on the X-ray marked “Aâ€Â and BLUE arrow on the CT scan). An attempt was made to treat him without surgery in a halo; however, the fracture was too unstable and could not be aligned in an acceptable position.
Thus, he underwent a C3 corpectomy (where the fractured bone was removed) and C2-4 fusion. In place of the fractured bone, a piece of hip bone was inserted. He went on to heal without complications. The X-ray marked C was performed at 6 weeks after surgery and shows the hip bone was being not at “whiteâ€Â at the C2 and C4 bones because it has not mended (or “fusedâ€Â) with those bones yet. An X-ray done at 6 months after surgery (marked D) shows how the hip bone is of the same density (“whitenessâ€Â) as the C2 and C4 bones and has woven together with those bones.
