ACDF Surgery and Dysphagia: Outcomes from the SPInES Study

Dysphagia after Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) surgery is a widely accepted surgical complication but remains poorly understood and underrepresented in research. In this session we will review ACDF surgery and its potential for disrupting swallowing, and share results from our recently published prospective instrumental study – “SPINES” (Spine surgery Prospective Instrumental Exploration of Swallowing). We will discuss within-subject incidence and point-prevalence rates of dysphagia, as well as changes to swallowing biomechanics and functional outcomes, six-weeks after ACDF surgery.

R. Brynn Jones-Rastelli, M.S., CCC-SLP; BCS-S; CBIS, is a medical speech language pathologist and current doctoral student in the Swallowing Research Lab at New York University, studying under Professor Sonja Molfenter (NYU SRL Principal Investigator). Her research interests are related to the impact of neurologic injury and trauma on the swallowing mechanism. Her current research aims to characterize physiologic changes in swallowing associated with spinal disease and following spinal surgery. Brynn has over 10 years of clinical experience as a medical speech language pathologist working in acute care and inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. In addition to her doctoral studies, she continues to maintain active clinical practice as a medical speech language pathologist at Mount Sinai West Hospital in NYC.

This work was co-authored by:

Matina Balou, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S

Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, NYU School of Medicine

Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, NYU School of Medicine

Board Certified Specialist in Swallowing & Swallowing Disorders, NYU Voice Center

Sonja Molfenter, PhD, CCC-SLP - Project PI

Associate Professor, Dept Communicative Sciences & Disorders, New York University

Affiliate Faculty, Department of Otolaryngology,  NYU School of Medicine

Fellow, NYU Aging Incubator