Perioperative characteristics.
| Characteristic | Total (N = 91) |
| Spinal pathology | |
| Herniated nucleus pulposus | 86.8% (79) |
| Central spinal stenosisa | 6.6% (6) |
| Degenerative disk diseasea | 6.6% (6) |
| Neuropathy | |
| Radiculopathy | 15.5% (15) |
| Myelopathy | 1.1% (1) |
| Myeloradiculopathy | 83.3% (75) |
| Number of operative levels | |
| 1 level | 62.6% (57) |
| 2 levels | 37.4% (34) |
| Operative level | |
| C5-C6 | 29.7% (27) |
| C6-C7 | 30.8% (28) |
| C7-T1 | 2.2% (2) |
| C5-C7 | 35.2% (32) |
| C6-T1 | 2.2% (2) |
| Cervical plating | |
| Standalone cage | 36.3% (33) |
| Anterior plate | 63.7% (58) |
| Operative time, min, mean ± SD | 55.3 ± 15.3 |
| Estimated blood loss, mL mean ± SD | 28.3 ± 11.3 |
| Length of stay, h, mean ± SD | 9.9 ± 7.5 |
| Day of discharge | |
| POD 0 | 83.1% (74) |
| POD 1 | 16.9% (15) |
| In-hospital complications | |
| Urinary retentionb | 1.0% (1) |
| Tracheoesophageal hematomac | 1.0% (1) |
Abbreviation: POD, postoperative day.
Note: Data presented as % (n) unless otherwise indicated.
↵a Stenosis not attributed to a herniated nucleus pulposus
↵b One patient demonstrated a postvoid residual volume of 300 mL on POD 0. The patient required straight catheterization and was placed on Flomax. The patient was able to void spontaneously on POD 2.
↵c One patient had an expanding superficial hematoma while in the postoperative recovery area. An emergent evacuation of a pretracheal hematoma was performed. The patient was discharged safely home on POD 1.