Cervical Disc Arthroplasty for the Treatment of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy - What’s the Evidence?

Sep 30, 2026

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Systematic review evaluates outcomes of total cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) for degenerative cervical myelopathy. Using Medline, 288 potentially relevant articles were identified, with duplicates removed and 115 screened by title/abstract for full-text review; 15 met the research questions, and 2 additional were found from reference lists. Outcomes assessment including radiographic analysis and implant-complication failure shows equivalence between CDA and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF).

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

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Introduction

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Cervical Disc Arthroplasty for the Treatment of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: What’sthe Evidence? Global Spine Journal 2026, Vol. 16(1S) 7S-14S © The Author(s) 2025 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/21925682251366641](DOI: 10.1177/21925682251366641) [journals.sagepub.com/home/gsj](journals.sagepub.com/home/gsj) Anson Bautista, MD 1, Ivan Z. Liu, MD2, Ankit I. Mehta, MD3 􀀁, Aditya Vedantam, MD4 􀀁 , C. Rory Goodwin, MD, PhD5 􀀁, Nathan Evaniew, MD, PhD, FRCSC5, Paula Valerie Ter Wengel, MD, PhD6 􀀁, Daipayan Guha, MD, PhD7, Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar, MD8 􀀁, Ryan Quisling, BS9, Jonathan Palmer, BS9 􀀁 , Keith L. Jackson, MD 1 􀀁, John G. DeVine, MD2 􀀁 , Jefferson R. Wilson, MD, PhD, FRCSC 10,11,12 􀀁, and Uzondu F. Agochukwu, MD2 􀀁 Abstract Study Design: Systematic Literature Review. Objective: The aim of this literature review is to examine the results of total disc arthroplasty in the setting of cervical myelopathy. Methods: A systematic review of the relevant literature examining the efﬁcacy of cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) in patients with cervical myelopathy was conducted using the Medline database. Results: Our query identiﬁed 288 potentially relevant articles. After eliminating duplicate articles and screening by title and abstract 115 articles underwent full-text review. Of these, 15 were deemed relevant to the research questions posed. Evaluation of references identiﬁed 2 additional relevant articles. Conclusion: Evaluation of outcomes measures, radiographic analysis, and failure due to implant related complications is equivalent in comparing CDA to Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF). From the literature available, the outcomesin patients undergoing cervical disc arthroplasty are at least equal to those of ACDF. The concern for persistent symptoms inpatients treated with CDA due to the dynamic component on myelopathy is theoretic and not supported by the available literature. 1 Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Augusta, GA, USA 2 Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA 3 Department of Neurosurgery, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA 4 Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA 5 Section of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada 6 Department of Neurosurgery, Haaglanden Medisch Centrum, Haaglanden, Netherlands 7 Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada 8 Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 9 Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA 10 Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada 11 Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada 12 Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada Corresponding Author: Uzondu F. Agochukwu, MD, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, 1120 15th Street BA 3300, Augusta, GA 30912, USA. Email: [uagochukwu@augusta.edu](uagochukwu@augusta.edu) Creative Commons Non Commercial No Derivs CC BY-NC-ND: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/l](https://creativecommons.org/l)icenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work as published without adaptation or alteration, without further permission provided the original work is attributed as speciﬁed on the SAGE and Open Access pages ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/

FAQs

What was the objective of the systematic review?

The review aimed to examine results of total disc arthroplasty in patients with cervical myelopathy.

How were studies selected and reviewed?

The review searched Medline for relevant literature, screened duplicates and abstracts, conducted full-text review, and supplemented findings by checking references.

How did CDA outcomes compare with ACDF?

Evaluated outcome measures, radiographic analysis, and implant-related complication failure were equivalent between CDA and ACDF, and CDA outcomes were at least as good as ACDF.

Sep 30, 2026

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