Hybrid surgery versus anterior cervical discectomy and fusion for multilevel cervical degenerative disc diseases: a meta-analysis

The objective of this meta-analysis is to compare hybrid surgery (HS) and cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for multilevel cervical degenerative disc diseases (DDD). Systematic searches of all published studies through March 2015 were identified from Cochrane Library, Medline, PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect, CNKI, WANFANG DATA and CQVIP. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs involving HS and ACDF for multilevel DDD were included. All literature was searched and assessed by two independent reviewers according to the standard of Cochrane systematic review. Data of functional and radiological outcomes in two groups were pooled, which was then analyzed by RevMan 5.2 software. One RCT and four non-RCTs encompassing 160 patients met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis revealed significant differences in blood loss (p = 0.005), postoperative C2–C7 ROM (p = 0.002), ROM of superior adjacent segment (p < 0.00001) and ROM of inferior adjacent segment (p = 0.0007) between the HS group and the ACDF group. No significant differences were found regarding operation time (p = 0.75), postoperative VAS (p = 0.18) and complications (p = 0.73) between the groups. Hybrid surgery demonstrated excellent clinical efficacy and radiological results. Postoperative C2–C7 ROM was closer to the physiological status. No decrease in the ROM of the adjacent segment was noted in the hybrid surgery group.