Cervical Disk Injury

[raz2206]

Hello, I was recently  (30 days ago)(via an MRI) told that I have a Large herniated Disk in the C-5/C-6 area which is pushing paramidline on the nerve. I did it by exercising of all things. My symptoms are slight neck shoulder, and right arm pain with some minor weakness in the right arm. My discomfort is worse in the evening but is treatable with a small dose of pain med when needed. I have even noticed some improvement over the last week or so. I have had 1 neurosurgeon evaluation so far and he says that I need to have the Anterior Cervical Disk surgery asap to fix the problem and prevent further damage. I have a 2nd opinion in the morning. I am curious about the following:
1) Can I try a more conservative method instead of jumping into surgery? If so, what is reccommended? My family Dr. is backing the nerosurgeon and has no other options for me at this point.
2)Should I get opinions from other types of Dr.'s such as Orthopedic, or Osteopath, etc...?
2) Should I get the surgery if my 2nd opinion reccommends it as well? Or should I get a 3rd opinion? My 3rd opinion is in mid June. Is that too late to wait?
3) I am a career minded healthy 37 year old and am scared to have the surgery due to the risks involved. I'm worried about the surgery causing new problems and or not fixing the problem that I have. What are the success rates of this type of sugery?
4)Do you think I could find a surgeon who would go in Posterior? The front of the neck scares me because you have to pass by additional areas such as voice box, throat, ect...
5)If I had the surgery, what should I expect Post-Op?
6) How do you know that you have the best surgeon? What questions should I ask before surgery?
Thanks for your help,

[JohnByrd]

First of all I am a 46 year old aT-10 Para of 30 years...I had disc compression at C-5/6 and 6/7 with weakness in the arms and underwent surgery where as I had cadavair bone fused into these areas and a Titanium plate with six screws implanted on July 28, 07 and have been in severe pain since....saw a spinal surgeon with the Steadman-Hawkins group that took x-rays and saw that the fusion didn't take and is sending me for a CT scan as well as an MRI with 1mm cuts to confirm his findings. He stated that I will have to have undergo another surgery whereas he will go in through the back of the neck this time and insert two rods and pins. My questions are as follows:

1:) what is the recovery time from a surgery where he has to go in through the back of the neck?

2:) I lost about 30% of range from the first surgery, will I lose more with this one?

[SpinalTap]

raz,

Your situation may be similar to mine.  Before opting for surgery, recognize that, depending on the extent of your condition, your symptoms may self-relieve and never recur.  In any case, consider all perspectives / alternatives in the context of your condition.

I have herniation and stenosis at C5-6-7 that manifested as an acute attack of neck/shoulder/arm pain last November (2006) lasting over a week, where the pain had become excruciating about 5 days after onset.  This was accompanied by a temporary but significant (about 50%) loss of arm and shoulder strength lasting a couple weeks thereafter.

I believe my symptoms may have been triggered when, about a couple weeks prior to the attack, when I had my neck in a contorted position while scooting myself under a barbell prior to doing bench presses, I felt a very sharp shooting pain across my shoulder blades, with residual pain lasting several days.... and then the acute attack of unbearable pain.  The underlying herniation and stenosis probably pre-existed.

Since that time (over 6 months now), I have been completely free of symptoms except for occasional bouts of mild neck/shoulder discomfort.  I've had no recurrence of weakness or numbness.  I am aware of nothing that I did to bring about this relief, although I'm physically active, which I believe promotes anabolism and associated growth and healing processes, so that might have helped.

Both of the specialists I've seen say that surgery is called for only if persistent weakness or numbness exists in arms, shoulders, etc., and that those symptoms are much more significant as an indicator of potential future neurological damage (if one ignores the symptoms) than occasional bouts of pain.

It is hard for me to justify surgery in the absence of symptoms, so if your condition is similar, it is probably worth waiting before committing to anything drastic.

Here are some links that may be helpful.  I am neither endorsing nor disapproving the information herein, and some of the opinions are conflicting anyway;  just want to provide different perspectives aka "food for thought":

http://www.rebuildyourback.com/herniated-disc/surgery.php
http://www.biblelife.org/neck.htm
http://prolonews.com/degenerative_disc_disease.htm

[Cruzette]

    Just wanted to share some comments. I will be having surgery this coming Monday, 5/21 for a herniated disk & cervical spinal stenosis. My NS will fuse C4-5 to an existing fusion (3 vertebraes) which was done in 1996. I am quite concerned about having 4 vertebrae fused together. I've been assured that I will still be able to turn my head!
    I'm not concerned about having this surgery having been through this before.  I know what to expect and had great results previously. My choice in 1996 was to have my NS harvest the bone matter from my hip. I can tell you all that hurt more then the neck surgery! This time I have elected to use a cadaver for the bone fusion.
    I was in a neck brace for 6 weeks and went back to work two weeks after my surgery. I had to carpool with my DH and ended up having to work 10 hours a day before he was back to pick me up on his way home. I am older and wiser now, this time I will not work until my brace is removed and I feel strong enough to work.

[raz2206]

Hello Everyone on this post. Sorry for the delay but I have good news to share. Since my last post, my favorite" 2nd opinion Neurosurgeon" offered me Physical Therapy for 2 1/2 weeks to see if it improves my condition. I'm happy to report that I am seeing "some" improvement. I am on a Cervical Traction machine for 20 minutes while laying on a heating pad. Then they do neck/shoulder massage for 10 minutes/ 3 days a week. No surgery planned anytime soon for me. I meet with the Neurosurgeon this Wed to review PT results. I will keep you posted.... As my PT said, a good Neurosurgeon will offer PT before surgery because 75% of folks heal in time or with PT even though it takes $$$ out of their pocket. And it makes for a better patient when it comes to surgery. You are in a better state of mind if you know that surgery was a last resort. He explained to me that a herniated disk is like toothpaste that has squirted out of the tube and you can not get it back in the tube right? So traction is trying to push it off the spinal cord/nerve to get you relief of the symptoms. If it works great, who cares where it goes.. But if it does not work then surgery will be the best option. I will you all posted...
God bless all of you that need surgery. Please keep the posts coming...
By the way, a friend of mine a had a double cervical fusion 2 weeks ago and she's doing great! 2 days later she felt much improvement while taking very little pain meds. That is very encouraging for me to witness.
Raz

[raz2206]

Mike, can you elaborate on the Posterior exercises that you do? Or is there a website that I can check out? I am hunched over a computer much of the day.
Thanks!
Raz

[LLWB]

Thank you so much for your reply. Helps to know what to anticipate in the recovery period. Sounds like you are doing great. I have read several scary posts that say they wish they hadn't had surgery, but my neuro-surgeon said it wasn't optional in my case or risk losing all feeling in my arm and hand. I think the more knowledge we have, the better prepared we will be. Again, thank you, god bless, and speedy recovery.