paulatb,

I have to make this quick so I apologize. I have had two ACDF's and speaking STRICTLY for myself, the surgery itself is nothing. All I ever felt was the incision across the front of my neck and that was MINOR. I had some hoareness but that's about it. But keep in mind once they do a fusion there is no going back and the spasms afterwards can be bad but they can also be controlled with medication. My NS prescribed Valium for the spasms. It is scary, I know so I am not making light of it at all. I am just trying to let you know it is NOT as horrible as you might THINK. The great thing was...gone were the headaches and gone was the pain in my thumbs. I still have some residual pain but you need to know my neck is a mess anyway. So, just read up on everything you can and if you have to, go back to the surgeon and ask question after question. I did that too since I kept coming up with more questions. And the other poster is right; after my first fusion I was up and walking that night..no problem! The second fusion was OUTPATIENT of all things and I went home in the afternoon. Again, no problem. But again, read up on everything you can and ask questions. I am just trying to allay your fears a bit. The surgery is serious yes, but I definitely made mountains out of molehills and I didn't need to; the surgery was nothing in my estimation.