Re: Hello and a question

On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 01:19:15 -0600, "Big'un"
<crotalus_atrox420@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hello everyone. I've been a lurker for a while and need to ask a question. I
have three herniated disks at C4-C5-C6, I've been through an MRI, physical
therapy and four blocks and my neurosurgeon tells me today that a piece of a
disk has broken off and is pressing on my spinal cord and I need surgery to
fix it. He says that they go in through the front of the neck, remove the
disk, fuse bone from a bone bank with a metal plate. He says it is a one day
surgery with an 85% success rate and I will have a sore throat for a couple
of days with full recovery in 4 to 6 weeks. Just really wanted to see if
anyone else had experienced this to kind of see what I'm in for if and when
I have the surgery. Thanks for listening.


I have horrible debilitating headaches as well as head and neck pain.
Not good for software systems design. I too had pieces of detached
disc pressing on my spinal cord at C6-C7-T1. My neurosurgeon told me I
had a 75% chance that the headaches would improve. They didn't. My
spinal cord is damaged either due to the amount of time the disc
material squeezed my spinal cord or due to complications in removing
it.

If you are experiencing muscle weakness in your arm(s), tingling,
numbness or pain don't expect it to get better. What's done is done.
This procedure may only prevent further pain and damage.

The procedure itself was fairly easy. Since he couldn't reach C7-T1 he
only fused C6-C7. I self donated bone from my hip. The bone harvesting
sight hurt more than my neck (stabilized in the brace). Using your own
bone facilitates solid bone formation. While donor bone is bacteria
and virus free my neurosurgeon could not guarantee it was prion free.
(Prions survive the sterilization process.)

I was told it was an overnight stay with full recovery in two weeks. I
ended up staying 4 days due to my inability to urinate. I took me six
months to achieve as full a recovery as I could. It left me disabled;
my employer suggested disability retirement.

During the procedure, the surgeon had to work around major arteries
(cause of mortality concerns) and veins as well as my trachea and
esophagus. Expect some discomfort.

Get a second opinion. ONLY let a neurosurgeon who has done a large
number of these procedures touch your spine. Do not let an orthopedic
surgeon anywhere your neck. Ask about success rates.

There are posterior approaches to relieving disc bulging. Some
neurosurgeons believe both anterior and posterior procedures are
needed to fully correct for nerve impingement. I do not know if
posterior procedure are available to retrieve migrated disc material.




You didn't mention if you were experiencing any pain.

Mike
.

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