ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Neuro-Oncology and Neurosurgical Oncology
This article is part of the Research TopicImproving neurosurgical precision: leveraging technology for enhanced visualization and navigation of complex neuroanatomyView all 15 articles
Early efficacy and safety of spinal endoscopy assisted anterior cervical discectomy and fusion in the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy
Provisionally accepted
- 1Henan Provincial Third People's Hospital, Zhengzhou, China
- 2The People's Hospital of Zhengzhou, Zhengzhou, China
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Abstract Purpose To introduce a new surgical approach for spinal endoscopy assisted anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (Endo-ACDF) in treating cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) and to report the clinical results after a 2-year follow-up. Methods The clinical data of 123 CSM patients who underwent ACDF from February 2020 to February 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into two groups: Open-ACDF and Endo-ACDF, based on different surgical methods. Baseline data, hospitalization duration, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage, and postoperative Japanese orthopedic association (JOA) score, neck disability index (NDI), visual analogue scale (VAS) scores and imaging results were compared between the two groups. Results There was no statistically significant difference between the baseline data of the two groups (P > 0.05). The intraoperative estimated blood loss and postoperative drainage in the Endo-ACDF group were less than those in the Open-ACDF group (P < 0.05). The postoperative JOA score, NDI, VAS, Endo-ACDF for CSM height of the adjacent vertebral body (HAVB), and cervical lordosis angle (CLA) in both groups were significantly improved compared to the preoperative period, with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). Compared with the Open-ACDF group, postoperative CLA and HAVB were significantly improved in the Endo-ACDF group, with better clinical outcomes at 1 year postoperatively (P < 0.05). At the last follow-up, HAVB remained higher in the Endo-ACDF group (P < 0.05), but there was no difference in CLA between the two groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion Endo-ACDF combines the endoscopic system with ACDF technology for treating CSM, demonstrating clinical efficacy comparable to Open-ACDF. Compared to Open-ACDF, Endo-ACDF offers a clearer surgical field, improved intraoperative hemostasis, and reduced intraoperative blood loss and postoperative drainage.
Keywords: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, Cervical spondylotic myelopathy, Endoscopy, Percutaneous full-endoscopic, Spinalendoscopy
Received: 01 Aug 2025; Accepted: 02 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Ma, Zhan, Shen, Tang and Tan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jun Tan
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