Department of Orthopaedics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

Financial Disclosure: D.L.C. is a consultant for AlphaTec. E.Y.K. is a consultant for Biomet. S.C.L. is a board member for the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, the American Orthopaedic Association, the Cervical Spine Research Society, and the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery; is a consultant for DePuy Synthes and K2M/Stryker; is a board member for Nuvasive; receives payment for lectures and travel accommodations from DePuy Synthes and K2M/Stryker; receives payment for patents and royalties from DePuy Synthes; has stock in Innovative Surgical Designs and the American Society for Investigative Pathology; receives research support from AO Spine North America Spine Fellowship support and AOA Omega Grant; is a board member of Maryland Development Corporation; receives royalties from Thieme, Quality Medical Publishers; is on the editorial board of Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques, The Spine Journal, and Contemporary Spine Surgery. TJP, RAS, and JBW have nothing to disclose.

All authors have read and approved the manuscript. J.B.W., T.J.P., R.A.S., A.K.C., E.Y.K., S.C.L. and D.L.C. wrote and edited the manuscript. D.L.C. performed the described surgery.

Correspondence to Daniel L. Cavanaugh, MD, Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Maryland Medical Center, 110 S. Paca Street, 6th Floor, Ste. 300, Baltimore, MD 21201 Tel./fax: 410-328-3700/410-328-0534; e-mail: [email protected].