First Clinical Experience with a Carbon-Fibre-Reinforced PEEK Composite Plating System for Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion

Carbon fibre reinforced polyetheretherketone (CFR-PEEK) is a suitable material to replace metal implants in orthopaedic surgery. The radiolucency allows optimal visualization of bone and soft tissue. We aimed to assess performance and radiological and clinical outcomes of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) with CFR-PEEK anterior cervical plating (ACP) under first use clinical conditions. We retrospectively studied data of 42 patients undergoing ACDF with CFR-PEEK ACP between 2011 and 2016. We assessed clinical and radiological parameters preoperatively, immediately post-operative and after a 12-month follow-up period. Patients’ satisfaction was excellent, good, fair and poor in 12, 19, 3, and 1 respectively. 2 patients developed dysphagia. No hardware failure occurred. Compared to preoperative radiographs, we observed a gain of global cervical lordosis and segmental lordosis (7.4±10.1 and 5.6±7.1 degrees respectively) at 12-month follow-up. Bridwell interbody fusion grades I, II, and III were observed in 22, 6, and 7 Pts respectively. The 12-month adjacent segment degeneration-free and adjacent segment disease-free survival rates were 93.1% and 96.3% respectively. In conclusion, CFR-PEEK ACP shows positive outcomes in terms of implant safety, radiological outcomes and functional recovery and is suitable for ACDF in trauma, degenerative disease and tumours. Radiolucency and the absence of imaging artefacts enable precise radiological follow-up.