PLEASE! disc in neck pushing on spinal cord

[fusedspine]

Has anyone had a bulging disc in their neck that was pushing on the spinal cord?

The doc said my spinal cord is being pushed on giving it an oval shape. He said I should have this op done first before my spinal correction surgery.

I am not sure what to do.

Does anyone know if the spine correction surgery will cause the disc to move?

He said once this surgery is done I have to wait 6 weeks before I can get the spine correction done. That means I will be in the hospital over the holidays

[jChris]

I just had neck surgery(3 levels of fusion) for stenosis in the neck. Since my situation is different I cannot respond to your specific questions, but your surgeon should be able to explain this.

I am also having to delay my scoli surgery for a minimum of 6 weeks due to the neck surgery. I do know that in my case they wanted to fix the neck issue first to make my scoli surgery safer.

[Confusedmom]

LaShawn,

Sorry to hear about your neck issues. I have neck pain, too, and have been told by a couple of surgeons that you definitely want to get that checked out and taken care of (if necessary) before scoliosis surgery. I think the scoli surgery itself can put pressure on your neck, during the long operation, and it is dangerous if you have neck problems. Plus, recovery can put additional pressure on your neck. So, if it were me (and it may be!), I would definitely take care of the neck first.

Can you postpone your back surgery so that it is after the holidays?

Best wishes,
Evelyn

[JenniferG]

Sorry to hear about this complication La Shawn. Sounds like the surgeon wants to make your spinal correction as safe as possible.

I know I'm being a pain saying this, but given how much pain you're in, it's only "one" holiday. You'll have plenty of other holidays to come which will make up for this one spent taking care of yourself. I know, easy for me to say, but that's the way I'd look at it. Best of luck with your decision.

[fusedspine]

re:

You are right Jen it's only one holiday. Today I am feeling better about this whole second surgery thing.

I will be scheduling my neck surgery for the next available day.

I am so emotional right now...because I really feel the support this group has offered me. Thank you all for responding.

[JenniferG]

Sometimes it takes a few days to just come to terms with what our surgeons recommend. I'm glad that today you're feeling better about it. <thumbs up>