J Neurol Surg A Cent Eur Neurosurg 2020; 81(02): 188-192
DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1698435
Case Report
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Vertebral Body Osteolysis 6 Years After Cervical Disk Arthroplasty

Ali Harati
1   Klinik für Neurochirurgie, Klinikum Dortmund GmbH, Dortmund, Germany
2   Department of Neurosurgery, Mediapark Klinik, Cologne, NRW, Germany
,
Paul Oni
1   Klinik für Neurochirurgie, Klinikum Dortmund GmbH, Dortmund, Germany
,
Lucas Oles
1   Klinik für Neurochirurgie, Klinikum Dortmund GmbH, Dortmund, Germany
,
Thomas Reuter
1   Klinik für Neurochirurgie, Klinikum Dortmund GmbH, Dortmund, Germany
,
Mohammad Hamdan
2   Department of Neurosurgery, Mediapark Klinik, Cologne, NRW, Germany
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

03 November 2018

08 January 2019

Publication Date:
21 January 2020 (online)

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Abstract

Cervical arthroplasty is an accepted and widely performed surgical intervention with usually favorable outcomes. We report a rare case of a 37-year-old woman who presented with vertebral body osteolysis, 6 years after two-level cervical arthroplasty (C5–C6 and C6–C7). The patient showed no initial complications, but at year 6 she presented with neck and radicular arm pain. Diagnostic imaging revealed osteolysis of the vertebral body C6. The patient subsequently underwent removal of the two prostheses and C6 corpectomy, followed by bridging C5 to C7 and anterior fixation. During surgery, the mantle of the prostheses appeared broken, with the core expulsed anteriorly and embedded in granulomatous scar tissue. Pathologic evaluation of the samples showed partially proliferating fibroblasts, giant cell reaction, and textile particles. Postoperatively, clinical symptoms resolved with no residual deficits. Additional research should be performed to assess the long-term complications of this procedure that should be included in the patient informed consent materials.