My MRI is posted. My diagnosis is Cervical Disc Displacement and Cervical Spinal Stenosis. This injury happened at work on 10/23/2012. My symtoms are pain,pain and more pain.`After a bad experience with a bad Workers Comp Dr. I retained an attorney and I do have an Orthopedic Surgeon that I do respect and after several visits I do have confidence in his word and his work. Personally I am not 100% sure if I want surgery,, I am at a stage that my pain is unbearable and I dont know what else to do.
My surgery is scheduled for 5/28/2013. My question is if anyone has had a similar surgery and if so,,I would appreciate to hear results. I am not savvy on the terminology but I will do the best I can to describe my future surgery.
I am having 3 level surgery. C4-C5 C5-C6 C6-C7. ACDF Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.
I would like to know results like,,is your pain level less or ??? are you able to do your activities like you did before neck problems ?? Have you had more surgery after the 1st surgery.
I appreciate any help I can get.I love this forum. Hugs to All....Annie

My MRI is posted. My diagnosis is Cervical Disc Displacement and Cervical Spinal Stenosis. This injury happened at work on 10/23/2012. My symtoms are pain,pain and more pain.`After a bad experience with a bad Workers Comp Dr. I retained an attorney and I do have an Orthopedic Surgeon that I do respect and after several visits I do have confidence in his word and his work. Personally I am not 100% sure if I want surgery,, I am at a stage that my pain is unbearable and I dont know what else to do.
My surgery is scheduled for 5/28/2013. My question is if anyone has had a similar surgery and if so,,I would appreciate to hear results. I am not savvy on the terminology but I will do the best I can to describe my future surgery.
I am having 3 level surgery. C4-C5 C5-C6 C6-C7. ACDF Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.
I would like to know results like,,is your pain level less or ??? are you able to do your activities like you did before neck problems ?? Have you had more surgery after the 1st surgery.
I appreciate any help I can get.I love this forum. Hugs to All....Annie

Welcome to Neuro Talk. Alot of us here have had cervical issues. If you post your MRI results, someone should be able to help with reading it, if you would like. I would strongly suggest, you get another opinion from a neruo surgeon. Another opinion is almost the most important thing you can do. I chose a neuro after an orthopedic surgeon. I have had two cervical fusions, and the biggest mistake I made was not seeking a second and a third opinion. Having said that, my second C3-7 with all the hardware was successful. I had no choice as three doctors concured. I had what they called the domino effect. Please ask all the questions you can before you decide to do this OK? My particular surgery was very difficult, and recovery was long and hard. Surgery is always a last resort when all concervative things have been tried. I don't want to discourage you from any choice, just make sure it is the very best thing you can do for yourself. We at neruo talk will be here for you, in any way that we can through this process. It can turn out OK, with good results. I am three years out and doing just fine. Very little pain at this point. I do not regret my choice, but I was positive and very sure of the doctor I selected. I wish you all the best in whatever you decide to do. ginnie

hello...i didnt have the exact same proceedure as you but i did have C6,C7,T1, T2 all fused together. it was a posterior fusion and the discs stayed in. 2 slices of bone were taken from my hip and screwed into the vertebrae to accomplish a permanent fusion. my surgery took 11 hours and yours should be more like 2 hours.
i have not needed any more surgery since that one ten years ago.
i had pain, tingling and numbness before surgery. it took about 4 months for me to feel decent again but its been improving considerably each year. i can do anything i want physically with my neck with this fusion.
when i drive my car i have good rotation of my neck to either side.
i do attribute a lot of my success to doing physical therapy and not being afraid to use the neck as much as i want to.
try to look at this as a solution to you troubles.
did the dr give you a percentage rate for a very successful surgery?....pete

I agree with Ginnie. Make sure you get more than one opinion - 2 or 3 at least. Surgery is the last resort after all conservative measures have failed. I don't know if I can really give advice as I am only 8 weeks out from the same surgery. I had an ACDF on C4-7 on 3/19. I had severe spinal cord compression with the canal measuring about 5 mm at c5-6. As my neurosurgeon told me on several occasions, I was crushing my spine.

I really didn't have too many symptoms previous to surgery (which was why I was absolutely shocked by the results of my MRI). I had a little neck and pain in between my shoulders but my biggest complaint was numbness & tingling in my right thumb and pointer finger as well as the tips of my other fingers. So far, surgery hasn't fixed the numbness but I was told that it was still too early to tell if that will be permanent. I am still in the Aspen collar 24/7 and only drive up to 15 minutes per day where I live...no highways. I also still have a weight lifting restriction of 5 lbs. I go back next Thursday for my 2nd post-op appointment in which I will have an x-ray done. I'm praying they see some bone growth. I want this collar off. I also have a bone growth stimulator that I wear 24/7 as well. It is my understanding that I will continue to wear that for a while after the collar comes off.

At this point my physical activity is restricted to walking on flat surfaces...no inclines, hills, hiking, biking, running or pretty much anything else. We will see how long before I can begin adding in other exercise. I asked my neurosurgeon if I could run a 5K in July and was told absolutely no running for at least 6 months and we will revisit the issue then. I'm hoping I will be given the ok to run a few miles maybe 2 times per week, but who knows. At any rate, I have been walking 4-5 miles approximately 4 to 5 days per week. It is cathartic for me to get my heart rate up somewhat!

As for work, I was able to begin working from home less than 2 weeks after surgery. I began going in half days at 4 weeks and returned full time at 6 weeks. I work for a great company.

I guess that is it for now. Good luck with everything. I'll be thinking of you.

Annie -- Where IS your MRI??? I can't find it.

I think this is the MRI (posted in earlier thread here) -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread181174.html

Annie1023, We could merge the 2 threads so all information is together in one, let me know, or report the thread and request it if you would like them merged.

duh ~~~ my memory -- unfortunately it doesn't exist anymore.

I'm glad I at least SAW the MRI at one time. LOL

Annie, that's a BIG surgery to undergo. UNLESS your spinal cord is being impinged, and UNLESS you're in danger of permanent nerve damage, I would NOT let them do surgery, but I would go with physical therapy and stay with it!. Physical therapy many times can help with what ails you. LOL And it can reduce pain much better than surgery can. Surgery will probably not help your pain much at all. Surgery isn't for pain. It's only for mechanical problems. And after surgery, somewhere down the road you WILL need further surgery too, due to the "domino effect" that the doctors usually dont' tell you about. So think long and hard about surgery Annie. It's not all it's cracked up to be. God bless and please take care. Hugs, Lee

Hi Annie!

I know most of us were scared of the surgery I had c4-c7 fusion in 7-2010. I have no regrets. However-- that being said I had no choice all 4 disc were pressing the spinal cord and I was in horrible pain prior to surgery.Yes-- there are risk to this surgery of adjacent disc disease for the level above and below fusion site-- those good disc take the brunt of the new hardware. That being said this surgery is usally done to avoid perm neuro problems. Pain wise surgery itself was not bad at all for me ----much better for it. Have things around the house like soup,yougart ,soft food for the first week and straws in case your in a collar they helped alot even when taking meds in case your throat is sore for a few days. If you have a recliner-- helps alot. I was actually going parlyzed on right side--- this surgery gave me my life back. I had the exact same levels you should be able to due most physcial activties in time ---but dont push it until your fully fused. I walked alot during my recovery to gain back energy level. Lifting should not be done for several months and avoid alot of bending and twisting until your told your fused. I spent alot of time worried about this surgery and fear of my future--as I said it all turned out for the better !!! I wish the same results for you. --Most off us are home in 24 hrs on the mend then bordem sets in LOL. Try not to fear it ---I had seveal consults and surgery was my only option. I wish you all the best!!!!!

I am new to this site but wanted to ask if anyone has had this surgery that my surgeon is wanting to do to help with mobility in my neck. I have had 6 major spine surgeries over the past several years and I am now fused from my c3 down to my pelvis. Last surgery was last Feb 2012, and ended up almost loosing my life, as I went into shock couple days after surgery and my kidneys shut down. Anyway I continue to have pain and kyposis in my neck and can't look up or turn my head either side. I have no muscle or fat left in my neck and the hardware is showing. He wants to cut in the c7 area making a triangle so my head can come up. I'm not sure exactly how to explain it but another extensive surgery and would be in halo brace for a few months. I don't know if I can take it again but I don't like the way I am now with my head looking down to my feet all the time. Plus a plastic surgeon is going to fix the back of my neck so it doesn't look so bad. I am 60yoa and right now my life really sucks. Any comments or feedback would be greatly appreciated.