If a cervical spinal fusion been determined to fused properly should the neck hardware be removed?

Patient's option: You do not have to remove the hardware. Doing so is a second operation, that does not need to be done.

Usually not unless : The hardware or instrumentation poses or is causing an issue such as displacement or loosening which would be rare with a fusion achieved.

No: There is no reason to remove the hardware.

Can Be: Once fusion is complete then you can remove the hardware. It doesn't need to be removed but can be removed if it is causing a problem(e.g., trouble swallowing, etc) Even removing the hardware does not necessarily fix the swallowing problem