I had a cervical fusion at 5-6 10 months ago. The surgeon used a Peek cage, which is some kind of "plastic"...polyether. No screws or rods. The cage was filled with a material to induce bone growth.
I'm not completely painfree; but much much better; and I've gotten a good deal of my life back. But it took me a long time to recover; so for me this was no easy surgery.
Motion preserving surgery was not available for me in Norway; but for just one level; fusion is not that bad.
I just recently saw a Norwegian study that one level cervical fusion doesn't cause unnormal movement on the adjacent levels; and therefore can't be blamed for adjacent disc disease if that should develop. I'm sure there are other studies that have come to another conclusion though.
The advantage of using peek cage is that it doesn't create artefacts on MRI; and that the material has about the same strength as natural bone so it is less likely to subside.
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Peek cage surgery C5-6 may 2006 Norway
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