does anyone have neck fusion?

[plondon]

Hi all. I had my second opinion this week and some of it was news to me.
Unlike many of the patients stories that I've heard, I don't have an s-curve. Instead, I have one curve, in that my spine sticks out of my pelvis at an angle, is accompanied by DDD, and most of the discomfort and imbalance I've been experiencing is a result of trying to hold myself upright.
However, at the same time but totally unrelated to scoliosis, I have some DDD in my neck as well as a bone spur.
Both of these problems will definitly require surgery (sooner the better!), and I will be scheduling them, neck first, in April, with Dr. Cohen at JH.
I know I'll be better off on the other side of all this surgery than I am now, but I would really like to hear what the surgery experience is like from anyone that has had fusion in the neck.
merci mille fois,
Piper

[Theresa]

Hey Piper,

I didn't have a cervical fusion but one of the maintenace guys at school had one this past summer. He was back at work in 6 weeks, he said at first his neck was stiff but that has loosened up some. He also said he can't turn his head to the side as far as he could before. He is happy with his outcome.

[lindabar]

Hi Piper,
I had laminectomy and fusion of C4-5.5-6 and 6-7 three weeks ago. I am still in a neck brace (24/7) and will be for another 3 weeks. There was pressure on my spinal cord at these vertebrae and I could not get scoliosis surgery done unless the pressure was relieved in the cervical area. The recovery is longer than I expected and I am worried about driving after the scoliosis surgery. I will have limited ability to turn my neck and twist my body. On the up side, I have fewer headaches and my head seems clearer. I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you have.

Linda

[SandyC]

Linda,
I'm interested in how bad was your neck before you decided to have the surgery. I have already had a/p surgery for my scoli. But my neck was very mild when I had the surgery. Since then my neck has become more painful, not to mention the "sandpaper" sound everytime I move my neck. Are you in a halo?
SandyC

[lindabar]

Hi Sandy,
My neck wasn't hurting at all, I had some very mild tingling in my fingertips and bad headaches every 3 days or so. I've only had 2 headaches since surgery 3 weeks ago, but I have modified my diet, so that could be the reason. One of the physicians who I saw for a second opinion said he would hold off on the surgery.
However, I have curves in the upper 50's and mid 70's in the rest of my back. The surgeon who did my neck will be doing the scoliosis surgery and he could not do it without relieving the pressure on my spinal cord at my neck because scoliosis surgery does involve some stretching of the spinal cord. I do have some numbness in my right thumb and index finger that was caused by the neck surgery.
Linda

[plondon]

Thanks for the responses. I also am having the neck surgey before any scoli surgery for a reason (avoiding further complications).
From what I understand, I am having the bone spur removed, then having a disc removed and replaced with femer bone, then there will be a metal plate attached to it all, I guess to secure it all together.
I'm glad that we've figured out what was causing so many symptoms that were just exacerbated by my job (looking down while drawing).
I have no idea what it will all be like. By the way, I am planning on going through with the scoli surgery when I am able-fusion from t11 or 12 down to my pelvis. I am a little concerned about the flexibility after such an operation, but that is a different subject alltogether. I have to get through my neck business first. My Doctor sais typycally People are down for about a week after this one, would anyone disagree?

[lindabar]

Hi Piper,
Some doc's do anterior surgery through the neck and some posterior through the back. I had posterior, the disadvantage is that back of the neck muscles as opposed to throat muscles are cut and it is more painful. Anterior can leave some people (a small percentage) with permanently hoarse voice or a feeling that something is "catching in the throat" after eating something dry. I had 3 levels fused, you are just having one. After three weeks I still tire easily when attempting to do simple household chores. No driving for six weeks after surgery. What level are you having fused?

[plondon]

I beleive I am having c2 and c3 fused. It will be an anterior operation, this I know for sure, because I asked where the scar will be.I will have an even better idea of it all after I go in for pre-op testing on the 15th.

[desertkuwait]

Hi All,
I'm in the Army and got injured over seas in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I was sent out of country to Germany and then on to Walter Reed Army Medical Center were it was found through an MRI that I had several herniated disks in my neck. The Doc there felt that I needed the surgury mentioned above.It has now been 1 year since the operation. The hardware that i have in my neck now it two long rods two plates and 18 screws.My range of motion is almost non existing around 9 degrees in each direction.

[plondon]

I don't think I am going to have rods and screws in my neck. Well, I hope not after hearing that! I would like to preserve my range of motion (I was a dancer).

[desertkuwait]

2 rods 2 plates and 18 screws

[Older Female]

I had this surgery in 1992 at age 54 due to DDD & loss of use of my left arm from a pinched nerve. A neurosurgeon performed the operation as the orthopedics would not. He informed me that I had a number of bone spurs, but that he could only trim some partially since it was so close to my spinal cord. I will say that I regained the use of my arm and much of my ability to rotate my head. But, sorry to report that my pain was excruciating and lasted in part for two years. After being dismissed from the hospital, I no longer had access to morphine and the pain medicine prescribed did not touch my pain. I could not lie down, stand, walk, or sit without unbearable pain and went without any relief or sleep for 48+ hours. Finally, my family took me to our small local hospital and I was given an injection for pain and I slept for the first time. I would like to think that pain medications prescribed nowdays would work better for others. I had to wear a stiff neck brace for about six weeks and a soft collar for three more months. These things caused awful muscle spasms for me the entire time. I really did not think I could survive for months after that surgery.

[plondon]

Hi all, it's Piper. I had my surgery on St.patties day and am happy to report that I am having minimal pain at night and am otherwise out of neck braces (wear one at night and when riding in a car). I have a small scar jus over my left collarbone. I want to see the x-rays. I will see them when I go into check up and on the same day sign the forms for my second surgery, in my lower back (see my post about that one). Thankyou all for the information and I hope everybody heals as well as I feel I have this time around.

[lindabar]

Hi Piper,
I'm glad to hear that your neck surgery went well. Can you turn your head as far as before? I have slightly less neck rotation after the surgery. You will probably have the scoliosis surgery before me. Let me know how it went. I'm curious to know how easy or difficult it will be to look or reach behind me after I have more fusion. You can post or send me private messages.
Linda

[Mary Lou]

Hi. I'm curious how everyone is doing. I just found out yesterday that my daughter may have to have her fusion extended into her cervical area to correct some Kyphosis that has developed. My mind is racing right now and I could ask a ton of questions, but I'll try not to ask that many. My main questions are these: How much mobility do you have? Has anyone had a good surgical success without pedicle screws? Jamie already has a long fusion-T3-L2-and her pedicles were too small for them to use screws so I'm guessing that might be the case with this. I was told that if you've been fused at the C2-3 level that you aren't allowed to drive? Anyone know if that's true?

Thanks in advance.

Mary Lou

[SandyC]

Hi All,
I'm having neck fusion Jan 19th :( . I will be having C3/C4/C5 fused with screws. I had A/P surgery in 2002. I'm very interested in those of you that have had neck fusion and the results. What kind of brace ( will be braced for 6 weeks). Can you still drive? How is the range of motion after the surgery?

[lindabar]

Hi SandyC,
I'm now fused at C4 to C7 and T8 to sacrum. I was supposed to be fused from T3 to sacrum. I'm not driving yet, but I can still twist my body and I don't think the driving will be much worse than it was with just the cervical fusion. The cervical fusion just made me more careful before turning into traffic, it took me a little longer to decide if it was safe or not. I plan to get some side large mirrors on the car to help. I'm curious about how much more movement I will lose if I get T3 to T7 done. I feel like I can arch my back a little now.
I had a hard Miami J brace that I had to wear for six weeks. The doctor chooses what brace you'll be wearing. I took valium for the first few weeks because I had severe muscle spasms in my neck. I had a small curve in my neck that was straightened with the surgery and that brace really spazzed my neck muscles. The valium made the pain go away. Now my neck is straight and I don't have any pain there, even when it rains. One of the problems with all of this fusion is that the discs wear out above and below the non fused areas.
Mary Lou,
I read your post about your daughter and I can only imagine how distressing that news was. I've been on websites discussing cervical surgery and I've never read that high fusion prevents one from driving.

[Mary Lou]

lindabar,

Thanks. With Jamie being 14 now, she is already talking about driving! Yikes! lol The thought of more surgery is already upsetting to us, but she would freak out if she knew the surgery would prevent her from driving.

Mary Lou

[SandyC]

Lindabar,
I will be fused from C4-C6. After my A/P in 2002 I was fused from T4-S1. I'm starting to feel like a little tin soldier :eek: I'm leaving in a few minutes to go get a brace fitted prior to surgery in January. So I guess I'll find out what kind I will be having :( After the TLSO it can't be that bad, can it??? :confused: :confused:

[lindabar]

SandyC,
You'll have 5 unfused vertebrae between the two fusions. I'll have only 3 if I get my thoracic curve fused. My surgeon said that I will have the minimum number of unfused vertebrae allowed between fusions. He said that more than likely I would eventually have to thave those 3 fused also. I guess that the very long fusion would cause all the stress to end up at S1. I'm going to talk about it more with him when I see him in February. I had been thinking that by the time those discs wear out they could be replaced with artificial discs. Now I'm not so sure about it. I guess it's naive to put my hopes in something that is so new. I'm glad to hear that you are getting fitted with the collar before surgery. The physical therapists kept putting the wrong size collar (initially after the surgery, I had sandbags on the sides of my neck ) First they put a adult medium, then an adult small on me. Every time the surgeon came to visit me he told them that the collar was the wrong size. I ended up with a child's collar because of my skinny neck. No, it's not as bad as the A/P surgery, the recovery is quicker.

[gaila]

Hello everyone,

I had a cervical fusion on c56 and c67 in 2003. I was just told I have a Moderate protusion indenting my spinal cord at level c45 and c34 is protruding also but without spinal cord depression. I am seeing a surgeon on wednesday and i would like to know if anyone knows any alternatives to this problem. Does an injection help with spinal cord depression?
Thanks

[Katt]

Hello. I had anterior neck surgery on April 26, consisting of donor bone and fusion of C4 & C5. I was told by others that I would be hoarse for quite a while after the surgery. The doctor made the incision up and down instead of across. My voice was only a little raspy for a day or two. The following morning I had and egg mcmuffin and hash browns for breakfast. The collar gets so uncomfortable! I had my Mom sew me some cushions to put by my neck for comfort and to absorb sweat. The helped so much! The neck pads are 9"X7", for the back of the neck and 6"X5" for the chin. My Dr. told me that we won't know the final results of the surgery for two months because it takes that long for the nerve endings to heal. I have already noticed that my headaches have calmed down immensely. I used to feel like I had an axe in the back of my head and had a lot of pressure in my temples. I am glad that I had it done weather it relieves the trap cramping and upper arm pain or not, but hopefully all will subside with time. Good luck everyone :)

[SandyC]

Hi All,
Well I had my neck fusion C5/C6/C7, in January. I'm very happy to report that it went very, very well. :D My doc did an anterior approach. The incision line was put in a natural occuring line in my neck and now 4 months later it has nearly disappered.

I was a little horse for a couple of days after. I also had some slight diffuculty with swallowing for about 1 week, but nothing that was a problem.

The pain in my neck ( no pun intended LOL) and my right arm are totally gone. The strength in my right hand is also back.

[lindabar]

Hi Sandy,
I was wondering how you were doing. Do you have any trouble turning your head when you are driving? My surgeon told me that I will probably need some unfused vertebrae fused at some point, because of the wear and tear on them. I can feel my unfused vertebrae bouncing up and down when I walk if I put my hand back there. I am fused from sacrum to T8 and C7 to C3.

[SandyC]

Lindabar,
I'm fused from T4-S1, just a bit more than you. At first I was having a moderate problem turning my head, but the PT helped. The only time I really notice my ablity(or not) to turn my head is when I have to back out of a parking space. I do so very carefully and slowly. ;) Since my torso is also fused it makes it harder to turn around enough to see behind me when backing up. Otherwise I really no longer notice the turning of my head.

[davidbfraser]

On 3/6/08, I had anterior cervical fusion of C3-4, C4-5. The neurosurgeon obtained bone from my right pelvis, extracted the bad discs, put the pelvic bone into the disc areas, and finished by putting a plate on with 4 screws. I am almost 60, and have had right neck pain with some numbness into my right arm/hand for 10-12 years. The past year the numbness had worsened to where it is tough buttoning shirt buttons, writing, etc. All I ever used was Advil for pain, and surgical neck injections had not helped.

To date, I am wearing the cervical support collar 24/7, and hopefully i'll return to work (I am a Physician Assistant) next week. I can not drive for another 4 weeks - ugh.

The right arm numbness is no different, but I'm hoping this will improve with time. The post-op pain is handled easily with Tylenol, although they gave me gobs of Oxycontin , Flexeril, and Lortab. Hopefully time will tell.