Researchers used prospective observation in the study. They sought to determine how dysphagia affected patient satisfaction after an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. A prospective study of all patients undergoing anterior cervical spine surgery from a single surgeon. Dysphagia was assessed using a combination of 3 validated grading systems, both preoperatively and postoperatively, at predetermined intervals. The modified CSRS survey assessed mean satisfaction scores at 6 months. A comparative study was undertaken to see if there was a link between the 2 outcomes. The results showed that 96.77% of enrolled patients (68/71) completed their follow-up surveys. Dysphagia was found in 32.4% of patients 2 weeks after surgery, 20.6% at 6 weeks, 13.2% at 3 months, and 13.2% at 6 months. About 82.35% (56/68) of patients were satisfied with their surgical results, while only 5.88% (4/68) were unhappy. During any postoperative period, there was no correlation between a patient’s overall satisfaction and the presence of dysphagia. Patient satisfaction was only significantly predicted by the lack of neck pain at 6 months (P=0.003). Dysphagia was a common but usually temporary side effect of anterior cervical spine surgery. Thankfully, its presence is not linked to a patient’s overall pleasure after surgery.
