Hi everyone..Im wondering if anyone has rsd in the neck after surgery..I recently was in a bad car accident and have a broken neck in several places. My c4 and 6 are broken in many pieces. The surgeons are not sure what to do. Out of 4 surgeons 2 say operate 2 say dont because of the rsd. Im down right scared...I also have a huge degloving of my scalp. Its a 7 in wound down to the bone which needs to be skin grafted. They have already drilled 7 holes into my bone marrow to create a bed for the skin graft to adhere to. I guess Im pretty messed up right now...scared nervous and just glad to be alive...If anyone has any input I would appreciate it...Thank You Krank

Oh wow...I am SO sorry to hear what you are going through. I have RSD in my neck but it was not the result of surgery. It spread there after I had a lumbar sympathetic block last January. It is not fun.

I don't really know what to advise you to do because I know that any surgery is risky with RSD because of the possibility of spread. BUT...RSD won't kill you (though sometimes it feels like it will). I don't really know the severity of what you are dealing with (it SOUNDS serious) or what the risks are for NOT having the surgery. I think you need to weigh those risks against the risk of RSD spread to your neck and really try to decide what you want to go with.

I know there are some things you can do to minimize the risk of spread when having any kind of surgery because there are just some surgeries that you may HAVE to have in your life. I know getting a sympathetic block is usually recommended prior to having the surgery but unfortunately do not know much more than that. I am sure one of the other members can advise you about the things to do to minimize spread risk during surgery...hope they do at least.

It isn't a guarantee that it will spread if you have the surgery...just a risk that it very well could happen. I think whether or not you should do it really depends on what the other options are and what will happen if you DON'T have the surgery. Does that make sense?

I really am very sorry to hear what you are going through and hope someone jumps in real soon with some more specific information about the steps you can take if you decide to go ahead with the surgery. Feel better and good luck!

Krank,

I'm sorry to hear of all your troubles. Even though I do not have rsd of the neck, I have to agree with Catra some surgeries you have to have at the risk of spreading and these injuries are some that require surgeries. I know that you are frightned but you also want to heal these injuries as quickley as you can. I want to wish you the best of luck and a speedy recovery. Please keep us posted as you go along.

I am so sorry that you have to make te choice of surgery or not and for the accident,rsd,etc. Have you seen a pain specialist who deals a lot with RSD? I wonder if they could give feedback? I have heard of some having surgery but then I think having ketamine infusions but don't quote me on that to prevent rsd spread. Maybe google ketamine after a surgery for rsd. I thought maybe I read that on Dr Kirkpatrick but again could be wrong.
Sending get well thoughts and sorry I could not offer more

Hi Krank,
OMGosh! I am soooo sorry that you are having such a bad time with your neck and rsd too. Gosh it just seems sometimes that we get hit with alot just with rsd. You poor baby. I think like mentioned above you have to weigh just what the outcomes are and weigh each one individually. You must plan for the surgery if that is what you decide to do and make sure you get it all worked out before any surgery so that everyone knows what they are doing along with others in order to give you the best possible outcome. How in the heck are you typing with a broken neck?? Wow you are a miracle for sure!! I will be saying an extra prayer for you tonight. I give a general prayer for those of us suffering from rsd and chronic pain but tonight there will be an extra for you my friend. Keep us informed on your progress and best of luck in whatever you decide to do.
kathy d

Hi everyone...just an update...I went to see the plastic surgeon and the neurologist that is dealing with my neck...Its funny how many doctors you accumulate when something like this happens. I just accumulated 6 more since the accident...Ive turned into some sort of ginea pig...Everyone said I should be dead...only by a miracle did I make it this far...We know where the miracles come from...I just say thank you Dad...Jesus...hes my Dad Ive never had for many years....I know it was him..They said that they have never seen someone scalped such a large area, severed two arteries in my head, lose two quarts of blood, and break the c4,5 and 6 vertabre in my neck and be alive...Not only alive but have no brain damage or lose any bodily function. I have a little trouble with my right thumb and pointer finger but other than that no other real damage. The RSD even settled down...I dont want to brag but we had people praying all over the world...including the Wailing Wall in Jeruselem. Its funny how the Lord put people in places for a reason...When I got in the accident it was really in a desolate area on the freeway....and my daughter my hero was very cool about everything. She was the only one that could get to me in the truck because the way it smashed so it was her who was putting on compresss bandages on my head and kept me awake and alert until the ambulance got there. She was driving when the accident happened.. the front tire on the drivers side blew out so she along with everyone else was just for the ride. The tires were only 3 weeks old and the bead blew out..so i believe i couldnt even have averted what happened...The truck almost launched end for end and my side int the front took the brunt of all that energy...It happened so fast that I actually beat the side air bag out the passenger side window and scraped my head on the freeway as we were sliding down the road. As we were sliding the truck was gradually turning until we were crossways on the highway and thats when the truck rolled three more times...Needless to say I was pretty beat up by the end..My daughter ended up with a dislocated shoulder and my wife ended up with a broken toe. My two boys....woke up and wondered why we were getting gas here...thats until they seen all of our luggage strewed down the highway for the last 100 yards..All in all we were blessed and Im glad that its me in this hospital bed than my precious wife our wonderful kids...As for me I can handle this I think because of the RSD...Ive learned alot of patients dealing with this disease and I can live with whatever happens to me..if I lose some range of motion in my neck so be it...at least it isnt any of my kids who have so much to live for. As far as the update my plastic surgeon says Im looking a grafting surgery in a couple of weeks....then its off to inplanting saline baloons in my head to get skin with hair growing on it to the places on my head where there was hair in the first place.. So thats the update in a nutshell...Ohh has anyone heard of Laser spine surgery and what effects it would have on our little demon...I seen it on tv today and it looked intriquing...I truly know that I will get through this because my Lord has heard our prayers I believe he wouldnt leave his kid who loves him...I have faith for a total healing and this is just a journey through the valley...and for whatever the reason it will not discourage me. A walk through the valley is good because not only i am learning a lesson there also food to nourish my soul....just one more thing please say a prayer for my family if you believe...My Dad died today. And if you dont believe please make this your opportunity to learn about and have a relationship with my Dad our Lord in Savior Jesus...Its just a simple prayer and pm me if you have any questions...Jesus is much more than what you see portrayed on tv or the political parties...whats nice is noone has corner on knowing him as your personal savior...and you dont have to be affiliated to a certain political party to be saved. (all though one party thinks they have the corner of the market when it comes to Jesus) Well Ive got news for them...Jesus hates hypocrits who tortcher and kill without remorse...

Krank,

I to have seen the commercial for the laser spinal surgery. I am not sure who offers it and whether this would be an option for a c4 c5 injury such as yours but it may be worth your time investigating. I am glad to hear your spirits are up and that you have a good support group. (i.e. your family, GOD) these are very important to your recovery. Keep us posted.

You are truly an amazing person...staying so strong through all of this. I will keep you in my prayers and hope that you are able to get through this without any spread. You have clearly been through enough. Best of luck to you and keep us updated. Wow...once again I thank the lord for all the blessings in my life because as bad as things can be with RSD I still have so many things to be thankful for in life.