Neck injury question...

[Brushout]

Hey fellas, I didn't know where to post, so I thought I would try here.

Just got told yesterday that surgery is needed to replace a disk (or two) in my neck. It has a super long name and I have no flippin idea what or how to say it. But basically they will make a small incision in the front of my throat, and scrape all the compressed disk out and replace the disk with a cadaver bone. Then my vertebra will fuse together and be held in place by titanium plates.

The Drs have said I should have 100% mobility within 4-6 months and be back to normal. I guess years of abuse has finally caught up with me.

I was just wondering if anyone on here has had this surgery? Whats to be expected?? Workouts? Etc. I am nervous and just want to talk to someone about it with first hand knowledge. PM me if you don't want to post.

Thanks guys!

Marky

 

[kirkstick]

Re: Neck injury question...

My wife had this surgery. I can't tell you if it's exactly the same or not unless you provide the exact vertibrae designation (example-C5, C6) and I double check to see what her's was. However, the type of procedure is the same. On hers, she lost about 10-15% mobility, but it was very necessary as paralysis was a distinct possibility if she did not have the surgery.
She had dealt with a nagging neck injury for about 15 years,(she was 15 years old at the time of the original injury and 30 years old at the time of this surgery). At the time of the original injury, it wasn't to the point that the docs wanted to operate. Then, one night she adjusted her seating position in a chair at home and the disk popped...instant MAJOR pain/mobility problems!!!! After this happenned, surgery was done within 6-8 days. Gone were the suggestions of "try some physical therapy". Emergency appointment with the neurologist and then to the front of the line for surgery!
They told her that the pain would continue to subside for a period of about a year. The pain that remains today is substantially less than it had been, but there are flair-ups.
It was explained that the nerves had been damaged/pinched when the disk popped and they would essentially have to fix themselves after the surgery removed the pressure on them. The pain that is left is more or less like an amputee's "phantom" pain. There is nothing further that can be done for it.
Most of the time she is relatively free from the pain that she had just prior to the injury that prompted the surgery, but she is definately not pain free by any means.
One thing that was mentioned by the doctors was that time was a factor in predicting the amount of pain that remains. If the surgery is not done fairly soon after the injury, the nerves are compressed for a longer time period and will have a harder time recovering.
OH YEH, GOOD LUCK!!! and GODSPEED your recovery!!!

 

[F224]

Re: Neck injury question...

I had two neck injuries, almost exactly two years apart to the day. Both were herniated (one shattered) disc's. First time in 2003, required fusion the second in 2005, just a "scrape" job. C4-5-6 region.

I was a B757 Captain at Northwest Airlines (Pre-NWA-Delta merger) and the FAA is pretty picky about these things. The first time, I worked very hard to get my job back, even to the point of being able to medically qualify for Federal Flight Deck Officer Training and completing it after getting my FAA First Class Medical Certification back in about six months.

The second time I was not so lucky and was eventually retired early after the second injury. The loss of motion in my cervical spine, too the right and upward led to my being certified with a high level of work comp permanent disability (above 50%). After that, the airline would rather buy you out than risk the PR disaster if I was ever the Captain of an accident aircraft. Think-NOT: "Captain save's the day"- but instead "Delta Airlines let's disabled Captain crash jet" headlines after the fact.

That said, how does it affect my shooting?

I stay away from the big recoiling guns. No 12 gauge magnums, now I shoot 20 gauge stuff for birds and clays. I down loaded my 416RemMag last year for Cape Buffalo, 400gr bullet at 2200 vs, 2450fps. Made a huge difference in felt recoil.

I have given up on Bullseye winter leagues, just a bit to much stress to hold the gun up for 270 rounds in three hours. But I can still handle a 1911 or 44mag for limited shooting sessions.

But I can still pound out a 13 minute mile and a half for my reserve cop PT test every year and am just extra careful how I work over head.

Get it done if you need it and don't look back.

 

[JBomb]

Re: Neck injury question...

Brushout, I just had this surgery a month ago. I had two discs (C5-C6) that had deteriorated and were pressing against my spinal cord. I was told surgery was my only option as continued pressure against my spinal cord could lead to paralysis.

The surgery lasted two hours from skin to skin. I have a two inch incision on my neck just above a tee shirt collar. The surgery went well and I was up walking as soon as I got back to my room (for short distances). I was released from the hospital the next morning. I was given Norco's for pain. I used them for about ten days. I had a sore throat for about a week but I could eat food fine, although swallowing was difficult for a few days. After the surgery, I had a lot of pain in my upper back, the doctor said the cadaver bones made me a millimeter or two taller and thus stretched my ligaments causing the back pain.

Anterior cervical discectomy with allograft (spinal fusion) was the surgery I had. There are several video on Youtube about the surgical procedure.

Heres one, be warned though, you may not want to watch...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnxDlSTCznA&feature=related

Good luck with your surgery,

Kind regards,
Jared

 

[raptor99]

Re: Neck injury question...

Marky,

I had the same exact surgery you are talking about. I had it done about 10years ago. I have three vertabre that are fused togeather with a plate.

I was told the same thing as you. In about 6 months I wouldn't even know I had the surgery. Bullshit!! I have a limited range of motion and I would get bad headaches when shooting a heavy recoiling rifle. I get headaches when I lay prone for any period of time.

On the positive side I am pain free now but it took a couple of years before I felt that way. Like one of the guys said you may have some flair ups once in awhile. I have learned to adjust to it though and now shoot 6.5s instead of the 300wm I used to shoot. I don't believe recoil would probably bother me much now but did early on.

I would do it again in a heart beat. I was in a lot of pain in my arm and my fingers were going numb. I still shoot several thousand rounds a year and have no problems. I even shoot prone but need to not stay down to long. Good luck in your surgery!!

 

[Graham]

Re: Neck injury question...

Maybe ask your doctor about:

1) Whether or not they will do internal stitching; and

2) If you depend on your voice to earn a living, the risks asociated with loss of your voice from going in at the front of the throat and getting internal brusing/stretching of the muscles surrounding the vocal chords.

Not to scare you, as I hear that it's a routine surgery these days, just that you should be fully informed.

 

[Brushout]

Re: Neck injury question...

Thanks guys...I have had a couple of very informative PMs as well. This is what I needed to hear or read. I am very thankful for all your candor and well wishes. Right now, everything is going well, I am doing some light physical therapy and some mild muscle relaxers. So far all is feeling much better.

I am still awaiting another opinion from a surgeon in a different practice. I want to make sure all the areas are explored before I get cut on. I will let you guys know as soon as I know more...but again, thanks for everything!

Marky

 

[The Mechanic]

Re: Neck injury question...

I know that surgery has come leaps and bounds in the last 10 years.
I had a back injury 23 years ago and was told that fusion was the only answer. It was also the only way my insurance would pay me for the injury. I made the choice NOT to have the surgery and I am very glad I did not do it (at that time). I used a combination of deep tissue massage, inversion, and swimming. I now consider myself at least 80% to 90% of what I was before the surgery.

I can not speak for neck injuries but in rehab I heard so many horror stories of bad back surgeries. Your choice of surgeon should be the most important decision of your life.

 

[mjammer]

Re: Neck injury question...

I had this style of surgery last fall and just had my final checkup this past week and got cleared as all healed and no further restrictions. I had the disks done for both C5-C6 and C6-C7. The technique I had didn't use the plate to hold the fusion in place and instead used these ROI-C Implants. The plates sometimes cause minor long term sensations in the esophogus where it feels like you have something stuck in your throat due to the plate being between your spine and throat. I had minimal noticable loss in range of motion. Only thing I notice is some loss side to side. The healing process varies person to person but I was back to work in 2 weeks (desk job) and probably could had made it back earlier. My surgery was to correct degenerative disks and to clean out bone spurs which combined were causing shooting nerve pain down my left arm. Overall, I am please with the results.

 

[Cartman]

Re: Neck injury question...

I need a three level cervical spine fusion. Meaning, fusing four of the seven vertebrae in the neck.

Obviously your situation is unique and any decision should be made in consultation with your doctor.

I found it very tricky to get a straight answer from the four different doctors I saw about my neck (orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons). I felt I got the best answers "off the record".

Here's my take away: if you are in your seventies or eighties consider getting the surgery and getting some relief. If you're in your thirties or forties slow down for a minute. What discs are they going to remove? If it is the big ones on the bottom be very careful. I was told you will then put a lot of extra strain on the ones above and below as you continue to move in the fashion you're used to. This can blow those discs out over time so that in ten years they may have to do another disc or two, and so on, as you get older.

Given the number of bad discs I have they thought I would have to have my whole neck fused by the time I was in my fifties. Zero mobility in the neck after that. No F-ing way. The consensus was to hold out for artificial cervical discs. If you only need a single level surgery this is an option for you right now in the USA. I've included some links at the bottom to give you an introduction.

Until these have been tried in a three level scenario I am on a program of pain management or, since I rarely take the drugs, pain deal with it program. There is a risk of long-term nerve damage the longer one holds out, however, so keep that in mind if you wait.

When I asked the guys who did fusion surgeries if they would do it in my situation the answer was "no fucking way". In fact, in my research I came across a survey from a spine surgeon symposium held in Canada asking these doctors if they would have a fusion on themselves and only 50% said yes.

Only you can decide how much pain you can deal with. As for me, I will be dealing with it until I get artificial discs. Good luck

Please read through all the pages here:

http://www.spine-health.com/treatment/ar...isc-replacement

http://annarborspinecenter.com/education/t_disc.html

 

[oldgrayone]

Re: Neck injury question...

Get several opinions and proceed with caution. Your doctor said "The Drs have said I should have 100% mobility" shoud is the key word not shall. When all is said and done and things do not come out right they will tell you that it is not a science and what you got is what you got.

In other words find the best surgeon you can find and up your odds. They all are out to make money.

 

[Mudcat-NC]

Re: Neck injury question...

If you havent talked to any of the docs at the Carolina Neurosurgery and Spine center, I would. Get a 2nd opinion. The knife is the last thing you want. I had the 'rotorooter" operation back in sept of 09 only cause I had no choice, loss of use of right arm, and healed up well, actually shot tryouts for the US team in Nov and made the team, but was still messed up and not back to "normal", at least shootingwise, till around March or April. Only problem was that I did a bunch of manual labor and F'd myself up again in July, took it easy thru today and right now am doing ok and avoiding a fusion.

Long story short, take it easy, avoid the knife and if you do the rotorooter thing keep in mind that nixes you for a artificial disc, at least for now.

btw, my problems are C5-6 area.

 

[zink14]

Re: Neck injury question...

If the Doctor told you you'd be 100% after the Surgery his is shitting you!

I had a complete rupture in my c5-c6 vertebrae, I lived with it for 6 weeks, tried PT, stretching, Massage, ultra sound, heat, cold...damn near everything, I ended up loosing 85-90% of the strength and use of my left arm. In the end give the daily pain and loss of strength in my arm surgery was the only option.

I was selected to do a study which used the Prestige Disk Replacement by Medtronic. Recovery was fast, Instant pain relief when I woke out of sedation, I was back to work in 1 week and rode 14 miles on my bicycle 3 weeks after the surgery. I started a serious strength and training program 5 weeks after the surgery. I got back to about 90% in a year. 5 years later I am about 95%; my left arm is still really weak compared to the right, and range of motion is about 95% in my neck....I have had to sell all of my Magnum rifles because the recoil was killing me, and found myself recoil sensitive after 100 rounds or so with my .308. Only really weird thing, when hunting, I can hear the devices (ball and socket joints) creaking and squeaking in my neck.

With all that said, I know three people who had fusions, none of them are even close to me in recovery and all of them would rate themselves at about 85% 5-6 years after surgery.

I will give you the advice I give every one I talk to, get two or three opinions, talk to patients of anyone using the MD you select, do everything possible to avoid surgery if it goes surgical find the best MD and technology you can, and I would avoid a fusion if the disk replacement is available.

Zink