7 weeks post-op posterior cervical spine surgery

You are in a semi sitting position on an operating table, then an air tube is placed down your windpipe, then your skull is attached with pins by a Mayfield head holder. Hopefully your surgeon will tell you about this before, rather than have you wake up with horrible pains above the ears and at sides of head, as you are in post op as I did. I am 2 weeks post op and finally the pain has subsided and the holes in head are scabbing up. There are two huge, deep holes, with one that needed stitches. ASK the surgeon about this so as not to be terrified afterwords. If you asked me if I would do it again to relieve the constant pain, my ans would be YES. Take care.

IS IT NORMAL TO HAVE A LITTLE DENT AT INCISION SITE AFTER POSTERIOR CERVICLE FUSION SURGERY?

Yes. It will eventually go away.

I HAD POSTERIOR CERVICAL FUSION C5/6 ABOUT 1 YEAR AGO AND I HAVE A SCAR FROM INCISION AND A DENT ON INCISION SCAR . IS THIS NORMAL TO HAVE AN INDENTION ON INCISION SCAR.

CAN SOMEONE PLEASE ANSWER THIS QUESTION ABOVE.THANK YOU SWAMP70

Hi..I had a posterior cervical foraminotomy/laminectomy, no fusion, on May 30, 2012. There is a knot where the dr inserted the "tube" with all the magnafiers and equiptment, then the dent, and further down are stitches under skin. I've asked the surgicalnurses and my surgeons' nurse, and my dr who all said the dent will eventually go away and neck will smooth out. I've looked on every site I can find and it has said the same thing...They also told me to ice the area for swelling, even at 4 weeks post op. Hope this helps...

Yes its NORMAL Cathie.I started with a fusion post C-6-7 then i had spurs removed(6 months later) Anterior C3-7,that was 03 and 04 In 08 I had C-3-C7 done and removal of hardware post.that was feb. by sept.it was all gone bad and redone on ANterior 2-7 Rods and screws + BMP2.

THANK YOU CATHY VERY MUCH.    SWAMP70

Hi Swamp, You're welcome.

I also had the same surgery on May 4, ; I think things are going good, but I also wonder if there are any specific signs at a certain point, that will give an indication if it will really help my previous pain . Had a headache today- nothing like I did before the surgery, but it makes me wonder .

Cathie - I have been trying to find people who have had this procedure without fusion - so glad to have finally happened upon someone who has! I am having the same procedure at C5, 6 and 7. Can you share what your recovery has been like? I have 2 kids (9 and 13) who can be of help but trying to plan for how much adult help I might need and how long the recovery really takes. My neurosurgeon said it's a "2 week recovery" but my guess is that's probably able to return to work with some restrictions and I'm sure that it varies by person as well. Anyway, the surgery has not been scheduled but it should get scheduled sometime this week - just waiting for insurance approval before they will put me on the schedule. Anyway, I would truly appreciate any advice, procedure experience, recovery information that you would be willing to share! Along with anything that you wish you had known before!

Oops I meant to also ask - did you wear a cervical collar at all? My Dr. says that I would have no cervical collar. I have seen info online about wearing a collar and no collar - so just curious if you had one or not. Thanks!

Hi SwedishFish, Thank you for your inquiry..My problem started when a gazebo fell on my neck and shoulder during a windstorm. So much pain and after a year, saw the nero-surgeon. MRI, CT scans, Xrays, and EMG had been done by then. The first pain was in shoulder, then I lost ability to hold anything and pain down arm got worse. Went to physical therapy which did help, but ins wouldn't let me continue.The first meeting with surgeon he said the disks were bad, but at this time not needing replacing. Surgery: posterior cervical laminectomy without fusion. All was ok, somewhat nervous, but kept remembering doctors' words "trust me", so I did. What he DID NOT tell me was of .the head holder. There are two kinds that I have read about, the Mayfield, and Sugita, which he used for me.. Both require that holes be drilled into the skull so you don't move, very important . If you check these on your computer, all the descriptions are there. In post op, my head hurt bably, but wasn't able to tell the doctor because though I could hear, I couldn't talk. Then back to sleep. Woke up to blood on hands from holding head, asked nurse where it was from and she just said head. Had I known prior to surgery, it wouldn't have been so scary. After discharge,the pain the rest of day was ok and your head will still be numb in the back. The next day was really bad pain, but vicodin wasn't working for me. They upped meds and it helped. It took me longer than two weeks to feel better. I also didn't have to wear a soft collar, but sometimes your head feels tired, fatigued, so having one would be a plus. Don't wear it more than a few hours, maybe 2x daily. The shower will require a seat in tub for first 3 days, with help. My husband made sure the bandage was covered well before washing my hair. I could not do this alone. And you'll need support getting in and out of tub. Get a hand held shower head. Depending on meds, you may also be dizzy. Go slowly. Don't bend down. Don't turn head suddenly. Still find it somewhat difficult turning head to right asmuch as before surgery, and it's been 2 1/2 months. I wish there was a way to give you my email or facebook numbers, do you know of any way? Hope I have helped you, and if you think of anything else, pls don't hesitate to ask. Best of luck to you.

Cathie - thank you so much for sharing more specifics. And YOWZA on the gazebo!! Mine is all sadly probably OA and a lifetime of bad posture! No specific injury. I know that you can send private messages but I don't know how. Let's do this - I have a small group - called back/neck pain support that I put on Facebook. It's a closed group but I think you can search and find it and then request to join and then I can approve it. It's mostly people who I went to high school with, are neighbors with as well as former colleagues - but we're all dealing with a lot of the same stuff. Once you're in there, then you can request me as a FB friend or we can just keep in touch in the group! I don't want either of us to post full names or emails or anything on here because well you just never know! I do check here so if you can't find the group, let me know. Here's the link to the page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/392501244115646/ so see if that works and if not try the search. I am the admin so I'll recognize your name and if a bunch of weirdos ask to join lol I can at least ignore those and they can't see anything in the group! And you definitely have helped me. Someone else talked about the head thing and I had NO idea, the neurosurgeon told me nothing. I guess I should have asked more questions going in!

Hi SwedishFish, Glad you got my post and now have more positive info to ask your surgeon. When I asked the nurses in post op why they didn't let patients know about the head holder, she replied that people wouldn't get the surgery if they knew!! Surgery has relieved the pain so I still would have, but, I'd have known exactly what to expect. Did u have time to look it up? I'll get the info with complete written, and photos so you have it all. It isn't scary once you understand. Was there anything that I missed that you wanted to know? BTW, my husband said it was more like three or four weeks until I was somewhat back to normal. There is a general tiredness for awhile, as it is major, not minor, surgery. Your children will be alot of help for you. I'm glad you won't be alone, esp the first few days. What I didn't prepare for was dinners. My husband either cooked or he brought in fast food. Might not be a bad idea for you to cook up a storm and freeze it. Someone could heat it in microwave, I do remember being soo tired. The pain pills kept the pain away, but I don't remember having any energy.. I'm 62 and usually have alot of pep, so that was quite difficult for me. Have u scheduled a final appt with your norosurgeon? Later tonight I'll try to get on the link you sent as it would be nice to know how the surgery went, and how you're doing at home. Oh, almost forgot...the hole on both sides of head, dime size, about an inch above the ear may require a stitch or two. This soft spot will not harden back up, from what I've read and what nurses have said. It's the one part of the body that can't, so I hear. Since March 31, the spots are healed, but still brownish.and soft. Otherwise, all is ok. It's hard to say, don't be nervous, but the surgery part isn't the hard part, it's the tiredness and possible control of pain, or getting a good pill regeim down. Keep me posted, new friend. Cathie