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Cervical Fusion Surgery????
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 2006-09-05 8:45 PM |
Master  1810    Morse Lake, Noblesville, Indiana |  Subject: Cervical Fusion Surgery????I have very powerful sneezes. Last October I had one that afterwards, I suddenly felt I had hurt myself badly. Turns out that I caused cervical damage, bulging several disks. Today, after a myelogram last week, I was told that they wanted to do a spinal fusion for a pinched nerve (multiple doctors agree - have had a second opinion same results). Choice is the surgery or the severe pain I have been dealing with for the last year now that has not gotten better. One of my best friends is a chiropractor, and I have tried that route, to no help. Surgery consists of removing a disk and placing some bone chips to grow/fuse the spine together in that 1 segment (C6-C7). Has anyone had this done? If so, I'd love to ask some questions. Timing is early November, so I have a bit of time to do my research. |
| 2006-09-06 1:52 AM in reply to: #531651 |
Coach 9167   Stairway to Seven | Subject: RE: Cervical Fusion Surgery???? What other medical (non surgical, non manipulative) options have you tried? Have you seen a pain specialist...someone who can do localized corticosteroid injections? There may be other treatments that are less invasive. I had a hemilaminectomy 2 1/2 years ago. I have been able to be physically active, but with limitations ... can't play soccer anymore very well, can;t run in the yard with my nephews (but I can run on a trail with full attention focused on form)... other stuff. I have daily pain that's tolerable that I believe is a direct result of the laminectomy, as opposed ot the original injury (torn disc on the superior surface, not a bulge on the side). It could also be from a lack of cushioning since much of the disc contents was sucked out by the surgeon. I was told that if I still had significant pain, disc replacement surgery could be an option, but taht technology has not been aroudn long enough for me to feel comfortable with it. Also, any surgery that is not an emergency (appendectomy, cardiac bypass, ruptured aorta or aneurism, etc) needs to be carefully weighed as the results of either a surgical mistake or common post-surgical problems (scar tissue, infection), can be worse than the original problem. Just saying you need to do as much research as possible. Good luck, keep us informed. |
| 2006-09-08 5:09 AM in reply to: #531651 |
Veteran 148 Upstate South Carolina | Subject: RE: Cervical Fusion Surgery???? I've seen many people over the years with cervical fusion who are doing well. Of course you're always going to hear the bad cases as well. Prognosis depends on how many levels, the more, the more restricted your motion will be. Should not effect biking or running but will greatly effect swimming if you want to breath. You will certainly need to learn to roll your body more. Since you've tried everything I'd likely get the surgery. The longer you wait the more permanant the damage. That's sometimes the root cause to problems after surgery, the nerve has had a compression force on it so long it cannot heal fully. In addition to pain from the bulge you risk muscle weakness as the nerve damage progresses. It's a tough area, it's not like a knee you can ignore for awhile or get replaced. The docs I work with do not perform these surgeries lightly and hold off as long as possible so usually there is no other course. Most spine docs are not surgery happy-too much risk. By the way, usually C2 is not involved and ~1/2 of your neck rotation takes place between C1-C2 so if you can find a good therapist or chiropractor to loosen that up it will allow you more rotation for swimming. Most adults are limited there and I have a theory that a limitation there causes a compensated amount of rotation lower in the neck (so you can turn to back up your car, etc.) leading to tearing of annular fibers of the disc and potential herniation. |
| 2006-11-06 5:24 PM in reply to: #531651 |
Extreme Veteran 724 Delray Beach, FL | Subject: RE: Cervical Fusion Surgery???? Me! I had the surgery at the en of July. C6-C7 laminectomy with bone graff and fusion. The disc was compressing my spine, so bad the doctor asked me to be careful because I could permanently damage my spine. It was severe so operation was pretty much the advice from all doctors. Sooooo...... I got the operation (to be honest, I didn't want to live a life risking damaging the spine. I know, I know, getting an operation was very risky. So you try to make an educated decision). I researched the doctor, he was highly recommended with no court issues standing in my area an couple years practice. Not everyone has the same experience, everybody is very different. Said that, I was very lucky everything went great. My doctor was amazing, I went home the day after surgery, took tylenol couple days, I had little pain (actually the most painful thing to me was the IV). I wore a neck brace for 4 weeks, I was back at work in 3 weeks (although I was chechimg emails and light stuff since week 1). I decided to fully recover before doing any "workout" so I walked as much as I could. It has been 13 weeks and I was dismissed today!!!!!!! Back to beginnerstriathlete... workout today,  Being in great shape helped me big time Good Luck, Mary Edited by clflgrl 2006-11-06 5:26 PM |
| 2006-11-06 6:17 PM in reply to: #531799 |
Champion 6627 Rochester Hills, Michigan Gold member | Subject: RE: Cervical Fusion Surgery???? AdventureBear - 2006-09-06 2:52 AM I had a hemilaminectomy 2 1/2 years ago. I had mine in 2001. They took 60% of L4 out (it had broken loose in the spinal column and lodged against the right leg sciatic), and the remaining 40% is apparently structurally sound. 5 marathons, countless tris and 10K's and 2 kids later, it takes maintenance to keep the supporting structure strong, but it's manageable. I will say that it's a bit of a race against the clock in figuring out solutions. In my case, insurance (and being scared as hell of surgery) dictated that I try anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, acupuncture, chiropractor, painkillers, cortisone before surgery. Bottom line...a year into knowing something was f*ed up, I wasn't any better, was addicted to painkillers, and still couldn't tie my own shoes. Be cognizant that the surgery may not only help your condition but help avoid some other unwanted conditions. Just saying you need to do as much research as possible. Good luck, keep us informed. 2nd that opinion. Don't do anything based on number of opinions, consensus, etc. It's YOUR big deal, and you'll know when you've got confidence in someone and real expectations. I was lucky; I got a referral to Dr. Paul Maurer in Rochester, NY...he did Ted Turner's hemilaminectomy, among others. The guy only operates on 3% of the people he sees; he's conservative, and he's real. He inspires confidence like no other medical professional I've met. He gave real expectations, and it turned out EXACTLY like he laid it out. Find YOUR Dr. Maurer, if you haven't already.
Edited by rkreuser 2006-11-06 6:18 PM |
| 2006-11-06 10:34 PM in reply to: #531651 |
Master 1810 Morse Lake, Noblesville, Indiana | Subject: RE: Cervical Fusion Surgery???? Thanks for the advice from everyone on the list. Surgery looks like the best option at this point in time, and my surgeon is apparently the best in the area (he's the guy the other doctors go to for spinal surgery for themselves/family). He's made me pretty comfortable with the options and risks. Mine is apparently outpatient surgery, as long as there are no complications, so that's a plus. My surgery was originally scheduled for today, but had to be resceduled to the 20th, so it looks like I'll be "down" over Thanksgiving... I guess it's a good excuse to not have to travel to the In-Laws? I'll update this with the outcome of the surgery. Think about me on the 20th, and send some warm fuzzy thoughts my way, OK? Everyone have a fantastic week! |
| 2006-11-07 6:44 PM in reply to: #531651 |
Extreme Veteran 724 Delray Beach, FL | Subject: RE: Cervical Fusion Surgery???? Good luck! Positive thoughts to you..... It is major surgery but apparently is a very common one. One word of advice, it is very likely you may feel better than expected after surgery and feel you do not have to rest. I wanted to do so much after surgery! It was hard to stay put. Your body will need all resources to heal. Stay put, relax Find a good sofa / chair and confortable pillows. You may have to sleep sitting up for couple nights. The neck brace is very unconfortable. I drank a lot of pinapple juice, supposely it has some chemicals that help your body heal. The first couple days you may feel a little unconfortable eating solid foos, get fruit, soups, easy eat stuff. If you have any questions send me a message... Mary |
| 2006-11-07 7:11 PM in reply to: #531651 |
Master 1567 Kauai, Hawaii | Subject: RE: Cervical Fusion Surgery???? Good Luck! My husband had one out of necessity 4-5-6 fused unstable from a water-ski accident! He is a very active surfer/snowboarder and hasn't stopped yet and if he didn't have it done he would have had to be a couch potato! The doctor requested him not to do his sports for at least a year because of the impact factor and wanted to make sure his bone grafts had solid healing! He surfs 10-25 ft waves and is more of a carver highspeed snowboarder you see in olympic racing. His range of motion is not what it was but he can still see side to side and he is a swimmer and never complained with neck rotation with that.
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| 2006-11-07 7:15 PM in reply to: #531651 |
Champion 6627 Rochester Hills, Michigan Gold member | Subject: RE: Cervical Fusion Surgery???? Good luck.....it'll go smoovly. Stay super optimistic about your prospects through surgery AND the period rightafter....recovery is the most frustrating time, because you *think* you're better, but your back isn't quite ready to cooperate. It'll come, and you'll be back...in spades. No pun intended. |
| 2006-11-21 11:41 PM in reply to: #531651 |
Master 1810 Morse Lake, Noblesville, Indiana | Subject: RE: Cervical Fusion Surgery???? Well, I had my surgery on Monday, and I can already tell a BIG difference. Prior to surgery, I had a stabbing pain in my right shoulder, my right forearm felt like it was on fire, and my hand was pretty numb. When I woke up, I immediatly noticed this pain is gone. So, I guess it was successful. It was outpatient, so I came home that afternoon. I have not been able to get too comfortable to sleep yet, and the post-op pain has been horrible enough to make me want to cry on several occasions - though I'm tough enough to suck it up, ya know...  I actually had to call the doctor today to get a stronger pain pill, as the ones I was on just was not cutting the pain enough. My hardest thing to adjust to is not being able to do anything. The lovely wife is about ready to kill me, as I keep trying to do too much, but you all probably know how hard it is to tell your 18 month old child that you can not pick her up... So, surgery was definetly successful. I have a follow up appointment on 12/14, though I don't imagine I'll be released at that point, most likely I will be able to start conditioning for 2007 sometime early in 1/07? I'll post a couple of follow ups to this later, when I'm not so doped up and after I can actually get some sleep and not be so tired. |
| 2006-11-22 12:45 AM in reply to: #531651 |
Master 1567 Kauai, Hawaii | Subject: RE: Cervical Fusion Surgery???? Glad your surgery went well! Remember to take it easy!!! The bone grafts need to heal. My husband can relate, he had hernia repair on monday and we have twin two year old boys who want uppy all the time! |
| 2006-11-22 6:19 PM in reply to: #605970 |
| Master 1728 portland, or | Subject: RE: Cervical Fusion Surgery???? Glad to hear it went well. I had fusion surgery in my lower back six months ago (L3-S2). Based on my experience I suggest that you be patient. The first couple of months post-op were miserable, but then I turned a corner and was able to begin PT three months out. It's night and day now from where I was prior to the surgery. Good luck with your recovery. scott |
| 2006-11-28 10:11 PM in reply to: #605970 |
Extreme Veteran 724 Delray Beach, FL | Subject: RE: Cervical Fusion Surgery???? Good to hear your surgery went well Take time to heal. The doctor will let you walk at the beginning then 6 weeks after surgery you may be able to go on the stationary bike... It will take around 12 weeks to go back to your normal routine (at least that was my experience). Of course everyone is different. I am running now, I am a little stiff because I keep thinking on my neck and I am a little tense while running. No neck pain, no numbness on my toes. I am back to running my 3 miles for training and riding 20 miles on the bike.... No complains, I am glad I listened to the doctor and rested all I could I had one good reason to be lazy. Have a great recovery! Mary |
| 2006-11-29 7:34 AM in reply to: #531651 |
Master 1810 Morse Lake, Noblesville, Indiana | Subject: RE: Cervical Fusion Surgery???? Well, I made it one week post neck surgery. The pain and numbness in my extremities is gone, though I have TONS of pain in my neck still. Thanksgiving AM, I decided it would be a fun thing to try to do a summersault down the steps. It's actually hard to go up and down steps when you have a neck collar on and can't look down. Nothing broke, and I was just a little bruised, and scared I had just paralized myself. I was laying down on the floor wiggling my toes and hands and trying to make sure I really didn't hurt myself too bad. Sunday morning, I woke up in tears from pain from the incision. Apparently, I'm alergic to the steri-strips they used to close the incision. I ended up taking them off Sunday AM, and found out that everything under them is raw. Cortizone to stop the reaction, and covered with gauze and neosporin, and it is starting to look better fortunatly. The doctor told me yesterday that things will get better every day from here on out, but, at this point in time, I have not seen any improvement in pain. If I don't get up in the middle of the night and take my pain pills, I wake up in the morning with tears in my eyes from the pain. Jaymie has been really good about waking me up with Thomas' (my 7 week old) 5am feeding to make sure I take my pain medicine. If I don't, I end up spending half the morning laying down, trying to get "caught back up". And, it makes me grouchy. To everyone. And I feel bad, as I can't tell Tanner that daddy can't pick her up. And when TBear (Teressa - my 13 year old) was here for Thanksgiving, I ended up spending a large chunk of time in bed, flat on my back. I know that TBear had to have been bored.The timing of everything just sucks, but I guess it was the best time possible on short notice. Fast forward to yesterday, I joined that club that guys join when they don't want to have more kids. I got the V yesterday. So, it's been a busy couple of months and the current score, I feel like someone stabbed me in the back/neck, and then kicked me in the crotch. Give me a couple of weeks for the pain of everything to go away, and I'll probably have a much better outlook, and not be so negative. |
| 2006-11-29 4:33 PM in reply to: #531651 |
Coach 9167 Stairway to Seven | Subject: RE: Cervical Fusion Surgery???? TJ, I remember about a week after my back surgery how excited I was that I walked OUTSIDE! I put my bare feet in the grass and it felt SOOOO good. The first several days just taking a few too many steps made me miserable the next day. Don't worry, you will get better. I also noticed as soon as I woke up from anesthesia that the pain in my leg was gone. Now you just have to recover from the surgery. hang in there. INvite mom over to fix you yummy dinners! |
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