Long-term clinical outcomes of percutaneous cervical nucleoplasty for cervical degenerative diseases with neck pain and cervical vertigo

Abstract BACKGROUND Good short- and mid-term clinical efficacy of percutaneous cervical nucleoplasty (PCN) for cervical degenerative diseases (CDD) with neck pain has been reported. However, few studies have assessed its long-term influence on patients with both neck pain and cervical vertigo. This study aimed to evaluate the curative efficacy of PCN for CDD with neck pain and cervical vertigo with minimum of 6 years of follow-up. METHODS Inpatients who underwent PCN for CDD with neck pain and cervical vertigo between April 2010 and March 2013 were enrolled. Clinical outcomes were assessed using the Cervical Vertigo Evaluation Scale (CVES); higher CVES scores reflected less impairment. Additional open surgeries were recorded. RESULTS Among 40 patients, 100% completed the 1-year short-term and 3-year mid-term FU; 85% completed the 6-year long-term FU. Clinical effective rates were 67.5%, 67.5%, and 52.94% at short-, mid-, and long-term FU, respectively. CVES scores were higher than the preoperative CVES scores at all FU timepoints (P 0.05). Reoperation rates were 1/40 (2.50%) and 3/34 (8.82%) at mid- and long-term FU, respectively. CONCLUSIONS PCN in patients with CDD neck pain and cervical vertigo showed satisfactory clinical efficacy at short- and mid-term FU, and it was fair at long-term FU. Thus, PCN could be a complementary operation for CDD.