Preoperative imaging differences of patients with cervical spondylosis with cervical vertigo indicate the prognosis after cervical total disc replacement

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between the preoperative imaging differences and prognosis in patients with cervical spondylosis with cervical vertigo who underwent total disc replacement (TDR). METHODS: This was a retrospective study of patients with cervical spondylosis with cervical vertigo treated with single-segment TDR. The severity of pre- and postoperative cervical vertigo was evaluated separately. Paired samples t-tests were used to compare the severity of the symptoms before and after surgery. Characteristics of plain films, computed tomography myelography and magnetic resonance imaging were compared between patients with different outcomes by analysis of variance and Fisher’s exact tests. RESULTS: The severity of cervical vertigo was significantly different after single-segment TDR. Three groups with different treatment outcomes were not significantly different with regard to gender, age, type of the cervical spondylosis, follow-up time, segment of surgery, cervical curve, range of motion, T2WI high signal in the spinal cord, and location of compression. The type of compression was significantly different between the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: Cervical vertigo was improved in patients with cervical spondylosis through the TDR procedure. Those in whom a herniated disc was the main source of compression may have a better prognosis following TDR.