how is this possible after a c5-c7 neck fusion??

[janedough]

at 8 weeks after my neck fusion  my xray report said fully fused. now 1yr later and much pain a mylogram says non union. how is this possible???

[maypo2260]

I had my first surgery in Feb of 99 and just had right after that surgery not done by a nuero surgeon i found out later because of workers comp i had problems and the doctor really called me a liar i had no problems well i did and i lived and delt with pain for years and went through many jobs because of it untill i went on SSI in 2015 and then i had to wrecks in one week ad the second being hit from the rear at 70 mph was un real right off my neck was hurt again even more you can tell for sure the doctor i saw wanted to put 3 more fusions in my neck to stop the burning numbness and all that i fianlly agreed one up just below skull and two more beside the one i had has it helped right now i want to say yes although in have still noticed some problems but its only been weeks in time we will see i hope so that i may return to some sort of work or at least release me from some pain and burning people just dont realize what were going through because it's not something you see.

[janedough]

when your fusion didnt take what did they do about it? and do u smoke?

[mckey2]

I've had 3 fusions (1 didn't take). I was told that the disc above and below the fused site weakens and will eventually have problems.

[janedough]

i live quite far from those good doctors on the net. a mylogram ct with contrast found mine finally. i had a 2 ct scans and either they werent read right or didnt find it. a mylogram is unconfortable but well worth it and it might be the bottom line any ways and save money in the long run. as i am sure your doctoring funds are exhuasted so are mine. please if your ct dont show anything ask for the mylogram insits in it. and thanks

[snapteach]

Please let me know how you are also.  Afer my doctor's visit today, he thinks it is a big possiblity that my fusion has seperated because of my fall.  He plans to do a CAT scan and if this doesn't show anything, he will go to the next step.  Last time, this was a discogram (discography).  It is what finally showed the non-fusion.  Look on the Spine Universe site for some wonderful doctors.  There are some out there, but apparently you didn't find them your first go round.  I hope you do this time.  Good luck and keep me informed of your progress.

[janedough]

thanks and please keep posting how u are. my story is long and painful with poor treatment from my doctors. i plan to post it when this is over in hopes of mayb helping others.

[snapteach]

This is what I wrote in my earlier link I was telling you about.  (I am a 46 year old female and have had 2 cervical disk surgeries since November 2005 after a wreck in which I suffered a severe whiplash injury that caused bulging (herniated) disk. The first surgery was done through front of the neck using a cadiver bone for C5-C6 herniation. June 2006 was the 2nd surgery going through the front of the neck again. Doctor had to redo C5-C6, because the bone did not grow correctly, and also fuse C4-C5. After this second surgery, I had no pain until Dec. 2005 when I fell face forward after tripping. Since that time, I have had severe, debilitating neck pain, left leg weakness, facial numbness and drooping on the left side, left eye blurriness, left arm pain, and left hand shaking with index finger jerking. My GP did an MRI of the brain and cervical spine and the only notable issue was disk degeneration. I have since seen my surgeon (Ortho specializing in spine and neck surgery). In his office, he put 2 Trigger point injections around C6. This did not help at all. What is going on and how can I get rid of or lessen this TERRIBLE pain? Has anyone ever had these symptoms after surgery or after a fall? I am very depressed because I do not think I can handle this pain, the thought of another surgery, or having to live with this kind of neck pain for the rest of my life. I see the ortho doctor again on Friday. If you have any advice or have ever experienced anything like this, please share with me what was done and what diagnosis you were given. Thanks so much.)
My doctor did say that 1st one had fused, but after the Discograpy it showed that it had not.  Apparently it is hard to tell when they don't fuse. Good luck in finding another doctor.  As I said in the post above, my doctor is an orthopedist specializing in necks and backs.  I think he is wonderful.  The Spine Univers website has a list of good doctors and their credentials.  That might help in finding a doctor.  I live in AL and there were a lot listed for my state.

[janedough]

i had my surgery 1/06. at 8 weeks xray said fully fused. but i began having swelling and pain in my neck which has progressivly gotten unbareable. i had mri,bone speck scan. a ct scan over the year all reported no real problems last week i had a mylogram and it says nonunion. i am waiting to get an appointment with a new nero as my nero surgeron left the state and his partners woudnt give me an appointment. go figure. and i didnt fall or anything. was yours fused at any point? mayb u could give me the actual link i still cant find your post with those search words. copy and paste the actual link if u can please.thanks

[snapteach]

My other post in under the Neurology Forum.  This is the title that I copied and pasted for you - Cervical Disk Pain with facial numbness, arm pain, shaking hand, leg weakness - snapteach 01/23/2007.

My first surgery was in November 2004 and my second surgery was in June of 2006.  When was your surgery?  My pain returned in December of 2005, but I tried other things to see if the pain would lessen before having my 2nd surgery.  It didn't, so I had the 2nd one.  It worked wonderfully.  I had my fall in December 2006.  From June 2006 to December 2006, I had NO pain at all. Now it is back to the intolerable stage but my doctor says my fusion is fine.  The problem now is with other disks that are damaged.

[janedough]

i cant find your other post? how long was it before u had your second surgery? and was it fused then u fell? how can i find your other post?

[snapteach]

Look at my post about cervical pain.  My 1st surgery was the same way.  I had it redone and had another disk fixed also, and it was great until I fell.  The fusion he did the second time fused wonderfully.  My doctor said he had never had one to do this before but sometimes they just don't fuse.  I hope this helps.