Cervical Spine Success stories?

I am doing very well, thank you. X-rays at 7 week follow up exam show fusion growing well. Everything is in place. More fusion growth is expected and expected to be nearly complete at next visit in 3 months, about 20 weeks after surgery.
I have been getting physical theropy twice weekly. I have full range of motion with neck. Muscles in neck and shoulders are stronger. There is no pain any where. There is no tingling, shooting pain or numbness in left hand or arm. Praise The Lord.
I will continue physical theropy a couple of more weeks. Working on back and adomen also. Strengthing entire back and neck is helping support head better.
Feels great with no strain, no movement limitations, no pain anywhere and feels strong and healthy. I can watch for cars behind me when backing out of parking spaces.
Dr. Hisey of Texas Back Institute in Denton, Texas did a perfect job.

I am 33 was forced from a trama to have a 2lvl acdf 45-56 due to central herniation on the cord. I experienced extreme bi-lateral pain in arms loss of motor skills suck as writing and walking.

My 4-5 herniated 5 years ago but the 5-6 happened 3 weeks ago that was the deal breaker for me.

So I had 2lvl ACDF using allograft bone and a dynamizing plate from Depuy less than 48hrs ago. I was up and walking the day of the surgery and released the following morning. All the pain that I was experiencing is gone and my motor skills are already back. I ate an omlet and pudding the following morning of surgery and have been working hard to eat solid food eggs refried beans and lots of vegtables through the juicer. And slept in my bed flat last night with the collar. I've been walking around as much as possible and am really happy I had the surgery.

The worst part so far is the pain with my throat hopefully that will get better soon. Had sex last night so that still works fine. If anyone in the Philly area is looking into this type of procedure I would be glad to recommend the Surgeons that I went to Dr.Albert and Dr.Harrop.

I had c-5 fusion done 2 years ago. For the past several months I've had this tickling in my throat near where the surgeon cut. I was wondering if anyone else is having this problem. I also seem to strangle easily when eat or drinking.

Hello, I am in the sixth week of my 2nd cervical surgery. the first time around 9 years ago, i had to ruptured discs, C4 thru C6, and have to have cervical fusion. Although this went very well, no issues at all until now, the surgeon told me at that time, according to how active a person is, and what type of work they do, you could potentially have issues in 5-10 years because the load from the fusion is trasferred down to the next disc. about 2 months ago i started having tingling in my right hand, quickly leading to numbness and loss of strenght in my hand, severe pain in the bicep area, shoulder and shoulder blade area. After MRI's and CT scans, it showed C7 was almost gone, but the main problem was there was a bone spur inside that was rubbing my spinal cord. The surgeon immediatly, within 7 days got me into surgery to remove this spur. When he got inside, he found a second one. All this being said, when you start having the tingling, the numbness, pain in a limb, act quickly to have the MRI's and tests to find out what is causing your issues because the last thing you want is to severly damage a never beyond repair, the pain is too severe as many of you reading these posts already know. This time i had to wear a hard collar for the full six weeks, hopefully get out of it this Friday during my next post op appt. This surgery went well as did the first one, difference was i was more prepared for what to expect. I also will heed what the Surgeons say, take care of your neck, because the discs around the fusions are having to do the work now. I am almost completely off pain meds, only had to take half the dosage from the time i got out of the hospital (next day) up until now. I couldn't have been more pleased the way the surgery went. Now just have to go through the next few months not being able to lift anything, but so far so good. Hope this  helps some that are going through this.

What medication did he prescribe to help the nerves to heal?

Hi all:

40 yr male, 6'3, better than average health.

I am 2nd day post op anterior, c5 and c6, dr. used shavings and Bone Morph Proteins (BMP), please study up on these before your doc suggests. Didn't touch hip, used some cadaver bone. Some BMPs are toxic and deadly on cervical patients, some aren't approved by FDA, specifically BMP2 on cervical due to swelling. Went into surgery with horrific pain in cross hairs of shoulders and spine. It radiated from skull into all areas of back, caused severe migranes and very limited tingling or numbness in limbs. Pain was better than two years, limited to no relief from injections or pain meds, thus why I opted for surgery.

Worst part of surgery, cathedar, uniformed nurses, poor oxygen levels coming out and being forced to cough to open airway, horrific swallowing pain. Stupid IV in inner elbow on bend, make them do it in your hand, you can't bend your arm. I thought I might be one of the lucky ones with no throat pain, didn't happen. It kills to swallow, like a horrid strep throat. Feels like stuff is getting caught in airway. I have to chew pills, cannot swallow them. Was released 29 hours after surgery. Cepacol helps a little, straws are critical to drink since you can't move your head. I believe I have a little range of motion, too worried about testing it. Took a shower today and am very weak. I am able to do short walks and am doing required exercises. They have me on Vicodin, don't accept anything less, the stitching alone is very painful, not to mention the pain of sleeping or finding a spot to sleep in. I am still figuring that out and appreciate any advice.

No drainage or signs of infection post hospital. Have lots of soft food at home, mucinex, too, breaks up the phlegm in your chest.

Is it a success, doctor said so and I feel like the fundamental pain I started with is gone, just need to work through surgical pain. I will stress to do your homework. N-surgeons are very common and it's scary to hear some of the stories out there. I feel I had an incredible group of docs in Cleveland and am happy to recommend them should I keep healing normal.

I expect to be back to adminstrative type work next week and driving in two. Here's for good hopes and will update as I can. This was very scary for me, if you have questions and I didn't answer, shoot a message and I will do my best. Sorry for (sp) errors. Can't type so well quite yet. 

 

Nice to hear some one with a positive outcome. I am due to have disc surgery in a week or two and am so scared. The surgeon will be fusing discs 4, 5, and 6. I also have degenerative discs in discs 6, 7, and 8. My surgeon does not offer disc replacement but I am concerned with mobility and wonder if disc replacement would be a better option. Honestly do not know what to do. He has mentioned that fusing discs 4, 5, and 6 might cause strain on disc 3 and eventually I might have to have that one done. He said discs 6, 7, and 8 are bone on bone.

I am so glad to hear some success stories.  I am facing surgery with cd4-5. 5-6, 6-7 disectomy and fusion. I have major arm pain and weakness as well as "moderately severe spinal cord flattening" according to MRI. I aso have a "signal change" in the spinal cord. I have researched and had 2 opioionsoan what I can do.  I am opting for suegery to be able to use my arms.  I am relieved at the prospect, but scared at the same time.  I would appreciate any info regarding post op from others who have gone thru this.Thanks :)

Marwell, great to hear. I used Dr Collis and Blades from St Vincents in Cleveland. I am 2 weeks post op, full driving, about 95% ROM and almost zero pain. I get some spasms and my throat is still sore. Some on here have severe thoat issues for a while, you should see an ENT. Your Neuro cannot help that, whether they caused it or not as a by-product of the surgery. I drove about 10 days into recovery and had no issues, I stayed on single lane roads so that I didn't have to keep looking over my shoulder. Strength and endurance are still slow. They used BMP on me, so not sure whether or not I am quite starting to fuse yet. Will update after 2 month appt. I am not scheduled to have any PT, the doc says it's not necessary since he didn't operate on muscles, he simply said to return to normal exercise routine with light weight as time permits. While I know everyone's experience isn't like this, make sure you research your doctor very well. When in doubt, use posters recommendations if you can and choose a reliable doc with proven success. I see so many horrific stories on here and my spine surgery at 2 levels was a complete success with minimal aggravation. I would like to add that my scar is almost gone, barely visible and I was back at adminstrative work in 7 days. I wish you all the best whether going in or healing.

Good to read your post. Thanx! I am a hairdresser with a "dead" arm and hand! After 20 years...I honestly still adore my career and have been so fortunate to have amazing clients! BUT! NOW! I simply don't know what to do! I need cervical surgery and fusion which I fear will render me useless! The pain in my neck, arm, and hand have left me with zero quality of life. All the horror stories! I don't know what to do! Do you think 3 weeks off of work will be enough? I am not one to sit still, but if it gives me my life back...I will do it. Continued success to ya!

It's great to see these success stories... i'm very scared about having cervical spine fusion.  can anyone recommend the best surgeon for this operation in the Boston area? thx

bassplayer52-

 

It is now 6.5 years later.  How are you doing?  My husband is scheduled for 3 level fusion next month and we are terrified.  One reason being that there appears to be very few success stories out there.  Of course, when people feel better, they generally are less inclined to get on a blog and complain.  

 

Can you give an update?

Thanks for posting this. My husband is going in for a 3 level C34 C45 C67 next month. We are a bit freaked out as he is a really active 53 year old. It's great to read posts such as yours. I think the pain in your throat will subside and completely clear. Try to be patient. The throat issue is not what scares us, it's all the horror stories on the web. I guess people don't feel compelled to post when things are going well.

Please update us. It's a tremendous help.

Don't lament about the disc replacement. All the planets have to be aligned for that surgery. In other words, there are pretty strict parameters.

All I can say is PEYTON MANNING.

I posted under "mindscapes", can't log in for some reason, I am the 40yr male above in the thread. Just a quick update to my two level c56 and c67, with BMP and plate. Most swallowing issues are gone. Most pain is gone. The only aggravation is muscle tightness and some spasms. That is to be expected 6 weeks in. I go for imaging in a couple weeks. I have 95% or better ROM in every direction. I am weaning off heavy pain meds, don't want to worry anyone with what I take since I was on almost 100mg oxy a day. I am at 1/5 of that today and feeling flu-like symptoms from it. That is hands down the worst issue. I am taking vitamin e to help the healing process now and back to light duty exercise. I work with long hours and travel, I drive 5 hours straight sometimes and have made three trips since the surgery back and forth 10+ hours in a week, little stiffness, I'd say better than before surgery. I work 70-80 hours and have no limitations now, just get tired. Scar is literally almost gone, started Mederma 2 weeks ago. I do the eliptical (sp) three times a week, 5 minutes a time with little resistance. All is going good, sleep is hell, keep waking up due to pain when sleeping the wrong way. I recommend a traction pillow with the soft spot or hole in the middle to cushion your head. Night and day better to sleep with. The only docs I know are in Cleveland, I'd say to fly here and stay for a week and find a ride home. The docs listed in my first post are world-class, 20k surgeries for the head surgeon, yes, I said 20k. He's world renowned and has no history of sanctions, suits or any problems with his 5 neurosurgeons. Best of luck to everyone and feel free to ask any questions, will try to answer the best I can!