Investigating the Neurological Signs and Symptoms of Patients before Anterior Cervical Discectomy

Degenerative disc disease is induced by the collapse of the anatomical structures of the spine. When symptoms are unbearable or does not respond to non-surgical treatments or there is a strong probability to damage to the spinal cord, discectomy is the suggested treatment. The purpose of this study was to explain the patient’s signs and the severity of neurological symptoms prior to surgery.
This is a retrospective study with review of the clinical records of 103 patients were candidates for anterior cervical discectomy. Data were collected and analyzed by descriptive statistical tests.
The mean age of patients was 50.28±13.01 with the range of 25 to 71 years. The mean time from onset of symptoms to hospitalization for surgery was 2.70±1.94 months. Forty-one patients were smokers. In all cases, the first symptom was neck pain. There was radiculopathy in 55 cases (53.39%), radiculomyelopathy in 44 cases (42.71%), and myelopathy in 4 patients (3.88%). Forty-seven patients (45.63%) had disc degeneration at one level, 53 patients (51.45%) at two levels and 3 patients (2.91%) at three levels.
The clinical status of patients before discectomy is the most important indicator for immediate patient referral to the surgeon.