neck pain

[dell125]

HOW DO DOCTOR PLACE A PLATE IN MY C6,C7 CEVERIAL SPINE

[Tuckamore]

Hello Dell,

Welcome to our pain management forum. I am glad that you found us and took the time to post.

I have not had a spinal fusion but my dearest uncle did in April of this year. They went from the front of his neck to perform the fusion. He had some unexpected swelling of the neck area. This set him back a bit and kept him hospitalized for an additional four days. It did all resolve and he has no lasting side effects.

The great news is that he had immediate releif of the cervical, shoulder and arm pain. He has had not further issues and has returned to normal functioning with in a few relatively short months. He is not sorry he had the surgery.

He had an excellent neurosurgeon with tons of experience in cervical fusion. I really thing that that makes a world of difference. Make sure your surgeon has performed many, many of these surgeries that have produced great results.

Please feel free to ask additional questions and provide more information. We look forward to hearing more from you. I wish you the very best.

Take Care,
~Tuck

[liddylou]

Hi -

Have had a spinal fusion at C5/C6.  It occurred 7 years ago, and am still recovering.  The pain from my neck to my finger tips can be terrible on some days.  Fortunately, the surgery itself was not invasive.  Small cut at the neck line, that is barely noticeable now.  Recovery wasn't bad either, except for the pain in the arm.  The surgeon did tell me, and continues to tell me, "it was nothing he did!"  Thus, I don't know what happened!  ;-(   Drill the doctor with as many questions as you can.  Make sure to ask, what is the worst thing that could happen from this surgery?  Best wishes to you!

[RunningMom]

They do this through surgery called a spinal fusion.  When going to the surgeon make sure you bring in a list of questions you have and write down what they say.  It's a lot of information and it's easy to forget what they say.  Good luck.