Cervical Surgery without other treatments
I have Congenital Cervical Stenosis. Now that i am getting older (45) I am having problems with headache, pain and numbness in my left arm and hand. When i went to see the Neurosurgeon, right away he wanted to do surgery. He said that the opening was normally the size of a penny and that mine was only 5 millimeters. I have a bulging disk that is causing the problem i think. Should i have the surgery without at least TRYING the other treatments?
Comments
Hi there Daladypaints,
I underwent a C5-6 fusion 10 years ago at the age of 33, I just 4 weeks ago went through another surgery fusing C3-7. Two opinions conferred that the surgery was required. Well, the result of the first surgery was full recovery of all functions and use of arms, hands (this was an anterior - front of neck procedure). The second surgery was posterior (back of neck) so not to cause problems with throat/voice. The second surgery had many complications that were unforeseen by the doctors so now at the age of 43 I find myself with a limited useo f my voice (as a teachaer this is not an acceptable complication) and the use of my right arm is limited (this is expected to resolve in time). Voice they are not sure as to what happened it may have been due to anesthetic process we are "waiting" to see if it resovles itself in time or another surgery may n=be needed to fix it.
So long story short, get many opinions, get the facts of the exact surgery they are proposing to do opr what thypes of procedures could they do and what are the facts of each type. Discuss all potential complicaitons even those that are remotely possible, and then pray and listen for a repsonse as to what you can live with after surgery.
Good luck and blessings to you - LAH
Joined: 2008-03-16