Recovery Rates of Postoperative Dysphagia Following Cervical Spine Surgery

Introduction: This study examines the recovery rates of patients who experience postoperative dysphagia within 1 month following cervical spine surgery.

Methods: A prospectively collected multi-institutional quality registry was retrospectively reviewed. Preoperative and postoperative Eating Assessment Tool-10 (EAT-10) dysphagia questionnaire scores were assessed to identify time points after which patients have fully recovered from dysphagia. Recovery was defined as losing postoperative dysphagia and not reporting the condition at any follow-up time point. Survival curves were generated to model the proportion of patients who fully recovered over time.

Results: Of the 500 patients without baseline dysphagia who developed new postoperative dysphagia within one month of cervical spine surgery, 39.5% had recovered by 3 months, 42.4% by 6 months, 59.6% by 12 months, and 73.6% by 24 months after cervical spine surgery. Furthermore, 73.2% (175/239) of patients reporting no dysphagia at 3 months permanently recovered, 55.0% (11/20) at 6 months, and 31.6% (66/209) at 12 months. Of the 122 patients with baseline dysphagia who experienced postoperative dysphagia within one month of surgery, 12.4% (13/105) were recovered by 1 month, 12.4% by 6 months, 25.9% by 12 months, and 42.1% were recovered by 24 months after surgery. Patients with baseline dysphagia have a 65% lower rate of recovery than patients without baseline dysphagia (HR: 0.35; 95% CI: 0.24–0.51; p < 0.001).

Conclusion : Patients who develop postoperative dysphagia within one month of cervical surgery may benefit from knowing their odds of recovery. These findings may be useful in guiding clinical decision-making when informing patients about the risk of postoperative dysphagia as a surgical complication.