ANY PEARLS OF WISDOM

[HURTING IN VA]

I have been scheduled for fusion (cervical) surgery on Feb 25th, and the following are the MRI conclusions:

Moderate to large broad-based left posterolateral herniation of the C7-T1 disk, assosicaled with a free herniated fragment.  Moderate to prominent bony stenosis of the C4-C5, C-5-C6 and C6-C7 neural formina bilaterally.  Moderate stenosis of the spinal canal at the C-4-C-5 and C6-C7 levels due to a combination of both acquired and congenital factors.

A fusion, using a titanium "cage", rather than hip bone will be performed...Basically, I'm just looking for any words of wisdom from anyone who has been there-done that...what to do, not do, possible side effects and recovery...It's not a question of IF the surgery is necessary or not...just what can I reasonably expect afterwards...immediately and long term...

[CCF-Neuro-M.D.-CS]

Immediately post-operatively you should not expect a resolution of pain or weakness. However over time (4-6 weeks, but maybe longer) you should see signs of symptom improvement. Typically after a period of recovery you will need physical therapy to improve your neck musculature. But remember the major reason to perform surgery is to prevent symptom progression, and future problems. Good luck.

[HURTING IN VA]

Thank you for the advice...my neurosurgeon made a point of letting me know that, technically, at this time, this is elective surgery, not emergency, and I can cancel right up until I'm saying 100, 99, 98, 9.....but...as you said, doing it now will (hopefully) prevent any further damage...he also gave me the same timeframe for my current symptoms to dissipate although there is no guarantee the stiffness and weakness with disappear 100%....I'm just glad he's using titanium rather than hip bone for the fusion...guess I should start thinking about quitting smoking yesterday...thanks again

[Craig]

You might want to consider a graft from the bone bank.
All material is frozen to remove any chance of infection/pathogen.
My ACDF was done with it 8 years ago and is still going strong, I've heard too many horror stories about the hardware. Good luck.

[HURTING IN VA]

That concerns me some also...thanks for your comment.  I know of others have have had cadaver bones used...I was talking to one last night that sets off security alarms when she goes into Walmart...surgery was just delayed until March 1st...

[zcouple]

I had a c5-c6 fusion done last April.  I elected to use the bone bank rather than from my hip.  I have no regrets.  The fusion took well and the recovery from surgery was easy.  I've heard the recovery from the bone "harvest" is worse than the fusion itself!

[HURTING IN VA]

I've talked to many that went the titanium route and many that went your route....anything sounds better than the hip route...

[mbaker]

I had ACDF on C5-C6 and C6-C7 last November.  I had both the cadaver bone and the titanium cage.  The recovery was a lot slower than I had anticipated, still experience some discomfort daily. My neurosurgeon calls the pain a nuisance.  I walked 2-2.5 miles daily prior to the surgery and went into it with a very positive attitude
Fortunately I was able to work through the fear and anxiety that often accompanies surgery.  I only spent 24 hours in the hospital.
Good luck to you and feel free to ask me any questions!!

[HURTING IN VA]

Thanks for your input.....I'd think anything (cadaver or titanium) would be better than harvesting your own hip bone....Unless something strange happens I expect to be home the next day too...after all, I do have an HMO.....I know I'll be wearing a collar for some time...my bigest "fear" is not being about to see the keyboard to type...I practically live on my computer and if I can't type...just take me out and shoot me now....Most people tell me they had trouble eating (swallowing) and sleeping the first couple of nights....but that, like everything else, passes....thanks for writing...k

[HURTING IN VA]

Just wanted to let you good folks know that I had my surgery (C7-T1) using the titanium cage on Monday morning, and was home early Tuesday morning....I have absolutely no discomfort, other than the blasted soft collar....so far, so good....thanks for all the encouragement and pearls of wisdom

[Bro. Rob]

I have been scheduled for surgery on April 7 on C5-6 for disk compression and C6-7 for a herniated disk.  I have the option to use a cadaver bone or my own hip bone.  I need some insight here.  I am an active 50 year old male.