Cervical Disk Arthroplasty in a Collegiate Football Player

INTRODUCTION: While the body of research investigating anterior cervical disk fusion (ACDF) for symptomatic cervical disk herniations in high-level athletes is large, evidence for cervical disk replacement (CDR) is sparse. The amount of patients able to return to sport after an ACDF is estimated to be 73.5%, causing surgeons to search for alternatives with better outcomes in this population. This case report describes the successful treatment of a symptomatic collegiate American football player with C6–C7 disk herniation and C5–C6 central canal stenosis. CASE REPORT: This is a 21-year-old American football safety who underwent a C5–6 and C6–7 cervical disk arthroplasty. Three weeks postoperatively, the patient demonstrated nearly complete resolution of weakness, full resolution of radiculopathy, and normal cervical range of motion in all planes. CONCLUSION: The CDR may be considered as an alternative to the ACDF in the treatment of high-level contact athletes. Compared to the ACDF, CDR has been shown in prior studies to decrease the long-term risk of adjacent segment degeneration. Future studies comparing ACDF to CDR in the high-level contact sport athlete population are needed. CDR appears to be a promising surgical intervention for symptomatic patients in this population.