Neurologic complications of anterior cervical interbody fusion.

Questionnaires regarding the neurologic complications of anterior cervical fusion were sent to 1358 neurosurgeons in 1974. There were 704 replies describing a total of 82,114 cases. Three hundred eleven major neurologic complications were reported in the entire series, including myelopathy. In addition, 70 detailed case reports were appended to the replies, making a separate analysis possible. Incidence of complications versus series size was tabulated.