Dysphagia and Satisfaction Following Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery: A Prospective Observation Trial

Study design: Prospective observation.

Objective: To assess the effect of dysphagia on patient satisfaction following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.

Background: Difficulty with swallowing is a common complaint following anterior cervical spine surgery. The exact impact of this issue on the patient's overall satisfaction is unknown because of its often-transient nature.

Materials and methods: A prospective evaluation of all patients from a single surgeon undergoing an anterior cervical spine surgery. Dysphagia was evaluated both preoperatively and postoperatively at set intervals via a combination of 3 validated scoring systems. Mean satisfaction scores at 6 months was evaluated at 6 months via modified CSRS survey. Comparative analysis was performed to determine if there was any relationship between the 2 outcomes.

Results: A total of 96.77% (68/71) of enrolled patients completed all of their follow-up surveys. The prevalence of dysphagia was 32.4% at 2 weeks after surgery, 20.6% at 6 weeks, 13.2% at 3 months, and 13.2% at 6 months. In total, 82.35% (56/68) of patients were satisfied with their surgical outcome and only 5.88% (4/68) were dissatisfied with their outcome. There was no relationship between a patient's overall satisfaction level and the presence of dysphagia at any postoperative interval. The absence of neck pain at 6 months was the only significant predictor of patient satisfaction (P=0.003).

Conclusion: Dysphagia is a common but often transient complaint following anterior cervical spine surgery. Fortunately, its presence does not seem to correlate with a patient's overall satisfaction level following surgery.

Level of evidence: Level I.