Neck Surgery

I've not had neck surgery. Myself, I would start going to someone who does Reiki and other energy work until I found someone with sufficient skill to heal the neck, and the other resulting problems.

 

Are you talking about going through the neck to do work on the back/spinal column? If so my husband had that done 4 yrs ago. It was most successful in his case. He had plates and screws inserted. All his pain and discomfort is gone and he can use his arm again without any trouble. Good luck with your drs appt.

PQ

 

broken neck 3 yrs ago dr. did surgery on it a little over 2 yrs ago. still have pain and my neck cracks when turned wrong. but hey I am back 2 work at least. would I do it again don't know about that. check and see what his number of surgeries are he has done and talk 2 a few of his paitents if possible .

 

I had this surgery done almost 4 years ago. The Dr. went through the front and fused 3 vertebra and put a plate and screws in. This was much more successful than my 2 previous lower back surgeries. The relief from pain was almost immediate, and recovery time was short. I was surprised by how little movement/flexibility I lost. I personally wouldn't hesitate to have the procedure done again if needed.

 

DH had very successful neck surgery over 10 years ago - he had 2 compressed disks replaced, had a bone chip taken off his leg or hip, somewhere, to replace the disks, had the titanium piece put in to hold it all together. They cut in from the front, left a sort of barroom brawl scar in the neck (makes a better story than neck surgery!).

The most pain from surgery was from the bone chip, and as I recall, he took about 4 months to completely recover before returning to work. Very happy camper now, no more surgeries and no more pain. He still gets a stiff neck from time to time, but jeez, who doesn't?? I'm not sure it's related.

Lotsa luck with your surgery - it will relieve that pain!

 

A woman I work with also had it done successfully. She has no problems now from what she has said.

 

My Dr. was very considerate of my appearance...made the incision in an age wrinkle. So the scar is not noticeable among all of the other wrinkles.

 

Two suggestions.

Get second and third opinions before surgery.

Stay far away from chiropractors, acupuncturists and other snake oil salesmen.

 

I have not had the surgery. My Nerosurgern said I should do it only as a last resort.
I have been to the Pain Clinic here in Missouri in Springfield and had some Epidural (sp?) injections that has made me pretty well pain free for about 8 months between injections..

Just a thought.

dale

 

Hubby had surgery on his neck, they took a bit of bone from his hip to replace ruptured disk. They did go in from the front. A few screws and plate, he is as good as new now. Other than the two very small scars, the worse part of the whole deal was having to wear that neck brace for 6 weeks he says, the big stiff one that kept him from moving head back or front. They switched to the softer one for a few more weeks after.

But to get rid of the constant pain, the surgery was worth it to him. The pain and knots were horrible and he knew he did not want to live with that constant pain.

Good luck, hope it works out for you

 

My dad had this done and he had the arm pain thing going on and it relieved it...now he cant tip his head back and work over his head but a small price to pay compared to not doing anything at all.

His voice took a while to come back but all in all it was a short recovery and well worth it for him.

 

I also had the 'cervical fusion' done where the neurosurgeon took a piece of hipbone and fused into between the vertebrae in my neck. (C5 and C6 area) I had this done 12 years ago. I have the titanium plate and screws, too. My scar is not very noticeable since it is in the area of a wrinkle.
The first time I rec'd a neck injury was due to being rear-ended by a drunk driver. Extensive soft tissue damage. (both vehicles were totaled)
The second time I injured my neck was a 'slip and fall' on glare ice. I had severe headaches and partial loss of right arm movement. The surgery was performed nine weeks after this injury. The headaches were immediately gone but I needed more surgery on the shoulder to get the arm back to almost full use.
I was not allowed to ever return to work (both accidents happened while on duty) by my neurosurgeon and had to retire on a disability which I fought (loved my job) but did not win. I do receive a disability pension from my former employer.
Good luck on your decision.

 

Sorry, Duke, no info on the surgery, but good luck.

By the way - you got your original post a little incorrect - first, it is VERY WINDY Grant County Indiana - I am just praying these high sustained winds won't rip off the plastic on my hoophouse.

Second - Go Boilers!

Either way, I wish you luck. Hope you get healthy soon - I enjoy reading you posts!

 

Hi Dukem - my brother had that same surgery at the beginning of February and is doing fine. Recovered very quickly and had no problems. He was a little nervouse when the Dr. described just exactly what he was going to do when he got in there, but as I said, all went very smoothly. I was surprised to find out that this is really a very common surgery. Good luck!
Your'e just up the road - I'm in sunny Madison county! Take care!

 

I had the fusion of C5-C6 and C6-C7 with insertion of titanium plate and screws. That was last September. I have my good days and my bad days. I keep bumping my head and have arthritis anyway, so I still have some pain and stiffness. Most of my problem is a vertebra higher up that keeps getting pulled out of place I think. I get tension headaches that trigger migraines. It's muscle tension. I like the titanuim because you can still have an MRI with titanium. I've just had one to check up on spots indicative of MS in the brain. Something we have to keep watching in my case.


My surgery went in from the front. Recovery was fairly quick, the arm strength, numbness, and pain is really a lot better. I have had to follow up with Physical Therapy, which helps. I was at the point where I was considering a pain managment clinic. Did the surgery instead. I think it's been worth it, though not wonderful. It's much better than pre surgery anyway. I still get a "bee sting" between the shoulder blades now and then, but it's getting better.

You can't judge neck surgery by lower back surgery. A whole different type of surgery because they have to cut lots of muscle tissue in the lower back and it's rougher recovery and doesn't offer as good a result as the neck surgery often time. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.