A Broken Drill-bit Fragment Causing Severe Radiating Pain after Cervical Total Disc Replacement: A Case Report

This is a case report of a 38-year-old man with severe radiating pain on upper extremity after cervical total disc replacement (TDR). We faced an unusual complication that has not been reported yet. He underwent cervical TDR for left central disc protrusion on C5-6. After the surgery, preoperative symptom disappeared. However, at postoperative 1 year, he complained severe right-sided radiating pain that had a sudden onset. On postoperative X-ray, a metal fragment which seemed like a broken drill bit was shown within the spinal canal. To remove that, right-sided anterior microforaminotomy on C5-6 was performed and the metal fragment was removed successfully. After that, anterior fusion was done because the motion of the artificial disc was minimal and the removed structure seemed to attenuate stability during cervical motion. The operation resulted in prompt symptomatic relief. During cervical TDR, particular attention should be paid to the procedures that require using drill-bits.