post anterior cervical disectomy recovery concerns

Hello,

I am new here, and I am going to have the cervical surgery next month (Oct), I too have to have the bone steel fusion and I am scared to death. I have to get it done in the c-5-c-6 vertabrae am I am getting it done at St. Joe's in Eureka California. I am afraid of the surgery it's self I have never had surgery before and I am afraid of not waking up. Then I am afrais of what I am going to feel like when it's over.
I have terrible pain in my neck and right arm and hand the pain is so bad now in my hand it feels like a hot cold vise is squezzing my middle and index fingers then it moves to my whole hand, also I am now having ongoing numbness all day in my hand and arm where as before it was just numb and painful only half the time. My neck cracks and pops when I move it and this whole process leaves me very sleepy as the pain keeps me up at all hours. My husband and kids are wonderful supporters but they don't understand the consent pain.
What is going to happen to me before and after the surgery and how long will I be down? My surgeon is wonderful and I trust him fully but he too has never had to actually go through this and I wish I didn't have too either. I was hit by a car a year ago and have been through every medication and therapy known to man but nothing has helped. Also is it possible to loose the feeling in my right arm and hand even after the surgery, I am right handed and as it is I have lost 60 percent use in my hand. Can anyone help me not to be so afraid. I would be grateful, Thank You Rebecca

I just had the same surgery done on Monday Oct 5, 2009 as you describe below the only difference is I am completely relieved of my pre op pain. My surgeon said that my herniation was the worst he had seen in his 28 years of being a surgeon. I was on percocet 20mg Q 4 hours, prednisone and neurontin prior to surgery and that did not touch the pain. I found myself in the emergency room getting IV push Dilaudid several times (that would releive pain for about an hour). My pain was debilitating. I had surgery Monday at 1030 am and my last dose of morphine was 2pm that day. I have not needed any pain meds since. I do however feel tense and my muscles seem tight between my shoulder blades and I have taken flexeril 10mg twice since I came home from the hospital on tuesday. I would have to say all the pain you are experiencing is not normal. I am not sure how to help you except to maybe ask your surgeon or primary to schedule another CT scan or MRI to make sure you don't have another area that is in trouble.. GOOD LUCK..

Rebecca, dont be afraid. I had this done c4/5, c5/6, in 1993. Back then they took the bone to make the fusion from your own iliac crest and you wore a hard cervical collar for 3-4 months. Now, they have all kinds of gadgets to put in for fusion from plastic washers that they fill with bone dust gathered while cleaning out the disks in your vetebrae, to cadaver bone, and so forth. Then they put a titanium plate on, which means, NO hard collar! That was a 24x7 thing for 4 months. No removal under any circumstances. It got very nasty under there, and my hair was so gross. After 2 months the dr finally said "oh you can carefully take it off while your head is supported by a chair and clean it, wash up etc., and oh how nice that was.

There is little to no neck pain in fact the pain is a huge relief from what you have now. There is a problem with fusions called adjacent segment disesase that means above and below the fusion go bad. 2.9% per year need surgery. So after 10 yrs, 30% need it. I made it 16 yrs. I need it badly on c3. If I can help you in anyway, you can let me know and I will post my email. I hope this helps. Done be frightened. Find a doctor (neurosurgeon) you have confidence in, make sure they use a hospital you have confidence in, and go for it. If you've tried all the epidurals and phyusical therapy, no sense living in horrible pain.

Let me know if I can help you or anyone else for that matter. Good luck to you all.
Mark

Hi Mark, did you get the new surgery or the old one or did you get both? I would like to hear more about your story if you can talk about it. Thanks!

Hi, actually I had the old one in 1993, with my own iliac crest as the donor site, 2 level fusion, aspen collar,3-4 months, (dont remember but know it was at least 3). I had to go get xrays every week for the first month, then every two weeks until the fusion was healed, which coincided with the time the collar came off. I swore I would never ever in a million years do that surgery again, and here I am going forward to have c3 done (I had c4/5, c5/6 earlier) and cant wait! I can't wait because I am so miserable with myelopathy.

The new surgery is night and day better. They use bone from a bone bank, or one of many fusion gadgets like little washer like things made out of plastic that they choose the height of based on the space between the veterbrae, then they put it in packed with bone dust taken from the vertebrae while prepping it and removing the disk. They also use various cages and other devices, bottom line, no iliac crest graft which is EXTREMELY painful and DANGEROUS due to INFECTION, FRACTURE OF ILIAC CREST when the chisel the bone out, chronic pain at iliac crest, and a whole list of things. It was so painful I couldn't eat, walk, or think for a week. Then week 2 I was barely able to move, it hurt so bad. The collar was inconvenient and always in the way as you had to wear it 24x7. I had 2 bone plugs that could come loose or move if my neck moved, so that collar had to stay on until they fused. Now they use a titanium plate, no collar, no worry about the bone plug moving because the titanium plate is covering it holding it in place. Its almost pain free surgery. I had no pain in my neck last time, in fact my neck felt better. The pain was in my iliac crest. Its a great surgery if you need it. Just make sure you are a surgical candidate and you will fly thru with no problems. Whatever questions I can help you with, fire a way. I will answer any I can. Thanks.

I don't have any other questions at the moment but I am glad ot hear that the new procedure works so much better and helps much more. Thanks for answering my questions!

There is lots of "cold laser for healing" in the medical community these days. I think chiropractors and such are mostly into it. No pain management places use it that i know of. (unless they are chiro). I dont know good or bad, I just know that I go to the #8 hospital in the US NEWS WORLD REPORT for neurosurgery, and their clinic/doctors are world famous. They dont use it. I guess if it works for you, go for it. I chalk it up to things like accupuncture, adjustments, massage, it works for some, not for others.

25 yr old male who recently (may, 10 of last yr) had anterior cervical fusion and discectomey 6/7. Had pinching, burning pain in my shoulder and neck for couple years and chalked it up to over training (cagefighter). Eventually it got worse. Got slammed on my back during training one day and broke a disc in half. Disc pressed on nerve and lost signifcant feeling and control in left arm and hands. So much so i couldnt hold a nail at work.
Had surgery almost a year ago and i have no regrets. Worst part of surgery was a slight sore throat. Feeling and strength back in my arm weeks after surgery. Titanium implant and plate with the new surgery and they dont want you to wear a collar. they say it actually slows healing process, but i recommend wearing one while you sleep for first couple wks. I do have pain in my neck frequently but its not near as bad as what i had experienced prior to surgery. Pain is from looking down for long periods of time and supporting neck without supporting shoulders, like lying your head on a pillow trying to watch tv. Tend to be sore. I recommend sleeping on your side and dont use more than one pillow. Also not to type or read from your lap or anything that has you looking down for long periods of time. Other than that i havent had any problems. Actually been back to training for months now and have a fight coming up in Feb.

Awesome bro, go get em. Thats great to have a life after a terrible scare like a cervical disk injury. I was like you, my first surgery, I woke up and felt 100% better. This was pre-plates, so I had to wear a collar for 4-5 months (2 levels). I just had another and had a plate. night and day. I had to wear a collar for car rides (no driving for two weeks) and to sleep for the first month. I fell asleep once without it and woke up with very sore neck muscles/spasms. The collar just gives you that support and prevents the spasms/sore muscles, which can be sore. Also, after your injury your mucles actually "splint" your neck to protect it. When you get it fixed, they stop and so it can get very sore so wearing the collar for the first few weeks helps a lot with that. My surgeon "suggested it" He said, "Its not mandatory, you will be ok without it. However, you will be much more comfortable and have less pain long term by wearing it for the first few weeks". I found his advice to be right on.

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR FIGHT/TRAINING. LET me know how you do!

BEACHNUT: The following instructions were given to my partner after he had an Anterior Cervical Disectomy and they CLEARLY indicate NOT to take  Advil or any other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for at least SIX months after surgery because they cause BLEEDING.. !!!!!! 

Restrictions:

 

·        
If you had a fusion,
do not use non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (e.g., aspirin; ibuprofen, Advil, Motrin,
Nuprin; naproxen sodium, Aleve) for 6 months after surgery. NSAIDs may cause
bleeding and interfere with bone healing. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

·        
Do not smoke. Smoking delays healing by increasing
the risk of complications (e.g., infection) and inhibits the bones' ability to
fuse.

·        
Do not drive for 2 to
4 weeks after surgery or until discussed with your surgeon.

·        
Avoid sitting for long
periods of time.

·        
Avoid bending your
head forward or backward.

·        
Do not lift anything
heavier than 5 pounds (e.g., gallon of milk).

·        
Housework and
yard-work are not permitted until the first follow-up office visit. This
includes gardening, mowing, vacuuming, ironing, and loading/unloading the
dishwasher, washer, or dryer.

·        
Postpone sexual
activity until your follow-up appointment unless your surgeon specifies
otherwise.

 

I have had level2 fusion at l3,l4,l5 aug 15 2011 and then I had ant level 2 cervical fusion c5,c6,c7 dec 5,2011,the fist day was great but you have to realize I've been in pain for 15 yrs and (3) spinal stenosis areas. your shoulders do hurt from the position you are in for surgery I guess my surgery removed so much pain and numbness I didn't have any shoulder pain. the only problem was the allergy to my antibiotic and getting the staff to realize it . I have lupus and allergies and asthma ,allergies are a long list since childhood,but I went home that afternoon but that week was really bad as you guys said sleep an hour then roam an hour but my throat would swell could not swallow it would go  my windpipe.there was a swollen ball in my throat the size of a hard ball and you could see my windpipe shoved over to the right .I was scared I'm claustrophobic couldn't breath I don't know how I made the first 4 weeks but I'm now 7 weeks post still can't talk above a whisper golf ball size swelling in my throat some difficulty swallowing but pain is managed with dilaudid 4mg I have allergies to the others and for some of you taking advil if it's sooner than 3 mos it will prevent bone graft and growth you can not take any asprin,advil,tramadol,prednesone and the list goes on for 3 mos after surgery. but I am glad to hear most are healing it is not normal to vomit meds ask for ms contin if you had no problem taking morphine in the hospital.

Hello fellow Fusioners, I too was involved in a accident at work that involved a sever direct impact to my head.  This in turn damaged and herniated 3 already bulging discs in my cervical spine.  On January 31st 2014 I had fusion on 2 levels and a discectomy on the third with titanium plated supports.  After the surgery I experienced excruciating muscle spasms in my neck and back that resonated quickly into my head.  This forced me into a 3 day hospital stay on hydrocodone, morphine, delaudud, valium and neurotin.  I returned home feeling awful and realized that although the pain was bad, the nausea from the meds was worse.  I decided to stop the narcotics (oxycontin, oxycodone) and simply take Kalanapin to reduce or eliminate spasms and relax my back muscles at night.  After day 3 of being home I began to vomit on and off for several hours directly after taking my first hot shower.  I'm assuming the heat loosened all of the bile, phlem, etc from my chest walls and throat but I'm not sure.  I feel so much better simply taking the benzodiazapines such as diazapam and Kalanopin and supplementing with tylenol.  The throat pain is bad at times, especially after coughing and vomiting but I realized that the Narcotics are not a healthy alternative for the pain in the long run.  I am 5 days out from the surgery which was a fusion of C5,C6,C7, along with a discectomy of C8.  When they opened my throat and moved my esophogus they found that rather than ligament or tendon surrounding the throat, those same had been severely calcified and were, for lack of a better explanation, bone.  After scraping and burrowing through that mess they took care of business.  Although I feel like I got hit by a truck overall, I definitely am relieved that I am no longer experiencing severe numbness in my arms and fingers, or further radiculopothy.  My right arm strenght was severely compromised and is still around +/-50%, but all in all I believe this to be a resounding success.  I will definitely update for all that would like more info.  God bless all that experience this because it is indeed one of the more difficult procedures to have done.

Thank you!!!
I had cervical spine disectomy with fusion of two levels 6 months ago. Your post has been very helpful......

Faith & Belief..
Nonie

I'm a 48 year old, healthy, athletic female. I had bone fusion C5-6 in 2001 as a result of a car accident I had as a teenager. I recovered great, did PT and had good range of motion in my neck. I got off pain killers because the side effects were too much for me. I was prescribed Etodolac 400mg for pain. It's a strong anti inflammatory and works great for me.
In 2009, I was rear ended in a car accident. I had another MRI and it showed the 2 discs above and below the fusion are showing some strain. I recovered and didn't have many problems until I took a trip to California. I vomited non stop for about 6 hours after getting off the plane.
Fast forward to 2014. I've had the vomiting bouts several times since my car accident and I've figured out it's when I have my necked turned in either direction for hours. Like when you're in a plane looking out the window. I also had this happen after a long night of sitting on a couch talking with someone.
When these vomiting bouts happen, my hands and forearms tingle, just like they did before my fusion in 2001. It's truly horrible and I try my hardest to avoid straining my neck.
I've found that taking an anti inflammatory (Etodolac) before any activity where my neck will be tweaked, works. Now that marijuana is legal in Washington, I vaporize the herb for pain and eat cookies to sleep and don't take any narcotics.
Best of luck to everyone suffering from neck issues. It really sucks.

Suboxone/Subutex/buprinorphine works well for me and doesn't fog up my brain or cause the crappy side effects of most pain meds