Herniated Disc questions?

[visajets]

Injured my neck lifting a heavy object at work. To make a long story short, MRI revealed severe damage between C4-C5 surgery and fusion slated for next week, Anybody ever experience this type of injury or know someone who has. What can I expect. Thanks

SORRY PLEASE MOVE TO LOUNGE PAIN MEDS MADE ME DO THIS.

[sandz]

i had my c6-c7 replaced in january.. if possible get the replacement disk (a lot of insurance companys dont cover it)... i have a scar on the front of my neck and still have numbness in my middle finger.. thats probably from waiting so long to get the surgery (nerve damage) but pain free for the most part... in may i was riding rollercoasters and everything although i would avoid the wooden ones... i was out of the hospital the next day and had to wear a bulky neck brace for two weeks but no rehab required.

so far so good

[PatriotReign37]

Injured my neck lifting a heavy object at work. To make a long story short, MRI revealed severe damage between C4-C5 surgery and fusion slated for next week, Anybody ever experience this type of injury or know someone who has. What can I expect. Thanks

SORRY PLEASE MOVE TO LOUNGE PAIN MEDS MADE ME DO THIS.

It sounds like they have to go in from the front.

Have you gotten a second opinion?

http://www.cinn.org/spine/herniation-cervical.html

Surgical treatment is reserved for patients who exhibit the signs and symptoms that require urgent decompression, patients who can not or do not wish to spend the time to allow conservative approaches to work and patients who have failed conservative management after a reasonable amount of time (six to eight weeks). Surgery for cervical disc herniation is divided into two approaches, anterior (from the front) and posterior (from the back). Since the disc is located in front of the spinal cord, the anterior approach is the more direct approach. The most common anterior operation is the anterior discectomy and fusion (ACDF). The disc is removed and usually replaced with a small piece of bone (either from the patient's hip or from cadaver donor). Sometimes, metal plates and screws may be used to assist the fusion. Depending on the type of surgery performed, a cervical collar may need to be worn for anywhere from a week to twelve weeks. The posterior approach is much less commonly performed. In this operation, a small amount of bone is removed from the back of the spine over the affected nerve root. Gentle retraction may allow removal of a soft disc. Few surgeons perform this operation.

[PatriotReign37]

Heres a messageboard for more info or to ask questions.

http://www.spine-health.com/forum/new-member-introductions/new-acdf-c4-c5-surgery

[Boozer76]

I have severe stenosis and 2 severely herniated discs (C4/5 and C6/7) as well as another that isn't toughing my cord. I also have stenosis in my lumbar with one severe herniated disc. I am not going to be a very limber old man.

2 weeks ago I had a laminectomy on C5/6 and C6/7. They went in from behind and shaved out some of the herniation as well as bone and calcification. I have a small scar on the back of my neck from it. It still hurts now and did not completely resolve my symptoms (no feeling in middle and index finger, as well as lack of function in left tricep), although the numbness is coming and going now and I've yet to really push the tricep yet. Supposedly my surgery is more painful due to them cutting through mucle and grinding bone.

I do still have to have the surgery from the from of my neck as well to have the discs removed. I am not a candidate for disc replacement, but I know a Dr in NJ who basically pioneered it as an option in the neck. I can provide you with info if you'd like. The best way it was described to me is the Army will still recruit you if you have one disc fused. You can do everything they can in basic training and serving oversees. With two discs fused the army won't accept you, but you could be a firefighter and perform all duties they perform, including carrying a heavy hose up multiple flights of stairs and axing through walls and roofs.

[PatriotReign37]

It looking like JN will have to place you on PUP, Visa.

[visajets]

Update- 2 workers comp Drs both recomend surgery. I dont like either one of them. Im going to persue using a Dr who is in the workers comp network and is alot closer to my home. Anyone know my legal rights in trying to do this? Thanks guys-----

[SouthernJet]

Injured my neck lifting a heavy object at work. To make a long story short, MRI revealed severe damage between C4-C5 surgery and fusion slated for next week, Anybody ever experience this type of injury or know someone who has. What can I expect. Thanks

SORRY PLEASE MOVE TO LOUNGE PAIN MEDS MADE ME DO THIS.

i had same c4/5 operation 15 years ago-ish..

I picked the cadaver bone insert as opposed to taking the piece of my own bone from hip..

My Dr. said the odds of rejection are something like your own bone = .000001 and cadaver = .000002..My point is it was so close that he said virtually all pick cadaver since the most painful part of operation is the graft from the hip if u choose that..

They went in from the front of my neck by the way,,small scar on my neck.

lasting effects? I get soreness in neck is on computer too long and my movement side to side is little less than it used to be..

[SouthernJet]

Here is a article from 4 years ago about the Surgeon who did my neck years ago where he talks about a new way where they dont use your bone or cadaver bone..new way that I guess helps down the road..

Disk Replacement Surgery Provides Relief For Pain Sufferers

RALEIGH, N.C. — If you have neck pain, a good shoulder massage might help. For serious neck pain, people try physical therapy, pain medication, acupuncture or epidural steroid injections. Once the conservative treatments are exhausted, many people turn to surgery to relieve the pain.

For some people, the problem is a herniated disk. The disk is cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between bones of the vertebrae. If a disk bulges out, it can pinch the nerves, causing pain.

At WakeMed in Raleigh, 32-year-old Elliot Shapiro became only the second person in the country to receive a new type of implant called a neo-disc by Nuvasive.

Shapiro, who is a freelance writer, found that sitting at a computer was a pain in the neck. He tried everything from acupuncture to epidural steroid injections to find relief.

"And then about three months ago, I started having just unbelievable spasms," said Shapiro.

Shapiro was diagnosed with a herniated disk. Most people in his position get surgery to fuse the surrounding vertebrae.

"The downside to that operation is it fuses the vertebrae together so that they can't move and it puts work on the disk above and below," said neurosurgeon Dr. Kenneth Rich.

Rich said most people who get neck fusion surgery end up with more neck pain eventually because of the added strain on surrounding disks. Rich included Elliot in a clinical trial for the new disk replacement.

Through an incision in the front of the neck, Dr. Rich exposes the damaged disk, removes it and replaces it with a soft replacement disk. It is a wafer of silicon that is squishy, but firm to the touch, surrounded by a weave of polyethylene material.

Once it is inserted into the disk gap, two flaps are screwed down on the upper and lower vertebrae to hold it in place.

A few days later, Shapiro is past the toughest recovery period.

"I had a lot of trouble swallowing the first couple of days," he said.

For two to three months, Shapiro said he will slowly build up his activity level and then do things he has not done for years.

"I'd like to go back to playing some sports some day -- at least get back on the softball field," he said.

The neo-disc is not entirely new. It has been used in Great Britain for several years. Rich said, in theory, a similar disk could be used for herniated disks in the lower back. However, he said the vertebrae in the lower back carry more weight than those in the neck and would require a more substantial shock-absorbing capability for a disk there.

[PatriotReign37]

Update- 2 workers comp Drs both recomend surgery. I dont like either one of them. Im going to persue using a Dr who is in the workers comp network and is alot closer to my home. Anyone know my legal rights in trying to do this? Thanks guys-----

I would think theyd be some sort of settlement.

As Southern pointed out, this relatively new procedure - disk replacement - is supposed to be better than fusion.

Will they allow you to see a Physician of your own choice and not someone in the WC network? My guess is that fusion is less expensive than replacement, and thats why the WC network DRs opt to go that route.