Anterior cervical discectomy, corpectomy followed by fusion (ACDCF) is primarily for the treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy, a disease in which the cervical spinal cord is compressed by overgrown bone and soft tissues, usually as a result of degenerative arthritis. The surgical approach for this disease from the back of the neck is presented in Cervical Laminectomy. Corpectomy may also be used for the treatment of metastatic cancer to the body of a cervical vertebra.

Anatomy

• The normal cervical spine is composed of seven building blocks called vertebrae (labeled C1 through C7) that sit on the thoracic (chest) spine (Figure 1). At the upper end of the cervical spine sits the head

Figure 1 - Seven cervical vertebrae as seen from the front.

• The cervical spine allows bending of the head forward (flex) and backward (extend) and tilt and twist the head to the left and right
• Each vertebra is constructed of a body, lamina, and pedicles, which surround an opening, the spinal canal (Figure 2). On each side of a cervical vertebra lie the facets, the portion of the vertebra that forms the joints between two vertebrae (Figure 3)

Figure 2 - Cervical vertebra and disk seen from below.	Figure 3 - Cervical vertebrae seen from the side.