Mr artifacts after anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion: A cadaver study

Objective: To identify the source of metallic artifacts observed on cervical spine MR studies following anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion (ACD&F), preoperative and postoperative MR studies were done on cadavers using stan-dard spin echo Ti, T2, and GRASS imaging. Materials and Methods: An ACD&F was performed on each cadaver at var-ious levels using different combinations of drill burrs, curettes, and suction tips. Results: Results showed that contact between the drill burr and suction tip produced the worst artifacts; however, artifacts still occurred in cases in which the suction tip was not introduced. Conclusion: This observation suggests that metal flakes from the curettes also produced artifacts. Image distortion was greater on GRASS imaging than on the spin echo imaging.