After cervical fusion surgery, some people can develop cervical disc problems above and/or below the previously affected disc. One study found that about 12% of the patients developed new cervical disease that required a second surgery over a 20 year period after the first surgery.

It has been estimated that about ¼ of patients will have symptoms from problems at an adjacent disc by 10 years after surgery. It is still unknown whether having a fusion surgery, with the resulting loss of motion between the vertebrae, contributes to the faster disc degeneration above and below the fusion.