cervical fusion
Posted 10-28-2015 at 06:58 AM by mattfran
I had cervical fusion on c4, c5,and c6 in July. I am still in a lot of pain in my neck and cant look all the way left or right. Is this normal
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Please take your inquiry to our main forum pages. Once there, you will find people who can help you with whatever you may be looking for.
These lesser-populated blog pages are for journaling only. Thanks.Posted 10-28-2015 at 02:15 PM by case44
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Oh no. The time to ask is before the procedure; but it's also understandable that when 2 or 3 fingers are numb or in pain and the neurosurgeon tells you that you need the operation, you believed them. I know that I did. I was promised 98% of patients are completely cured and the remaining 2% experience no change. HA! It was a lie the neurosurgeon knew about; and I have proof. Here's my story:
My PCP at the time referred me to the neurosurgeon for cervical discectomy and fusion at c5-6 and health insurance carrier that required a 2nd opinion from 1 of a choice of 3 neurosurgeons. I got a 3rd opinion from the neurosurgeon friend of a close friend. When everybody appeared to agree, I decided to move forward to have the work done. To say everybody is a mistake. I was actually only everybody I asked: 3 practicing neurosurgeons and a handful of friends and coworkers, none of which had the surgery or knew anyone who'd been through it.
What a nightmare! When I woke up, the symptoms were worse and spread across my entire hand, up my arm and throughout my upper back and shoulder. Hoping to reduce any swelling, the surgeon put me on a course of corticosteriods. No change. I was discharged in a hard and with prescriptions for more steroids a dozen Percocet and spent the next 6 weeks on a recliner at my parent's home, unable to lie flat with that nasty collar. And due to the neurosurgeon's order restricting all driving and riding in a car, there I remained for 6 full weeks, until my 1st post-op appointment.
By the time I arrived at the surgeon's office, I hadn't moved my head in a month and a half; and when he removed the hard collar that I covered in silk to avoid abrading my chin and chest, I had lost the ability to turn or bend at the neck. The surgeon prepared me in advance for the loss and explained that physical therapy would restore mobility, with adjacent discs taking on the flexibility lost by fusing c5-6. When I described the pain and numbness that remained since the surgery, he launched an attack on me as though I was making it up or had brought it on myself. I was going to need physical therapy to restore mobility; he reasoned the PT would end the pain as well.
Fortunately, I had been able to do enough work at my parent's home to hang onto my job; however my job involved extensive travel and there was a lot of pressure to get back out there. Since I couldn't drive for another couple of weeks until I could move my head, my employer gave me those 2 weeks to work from home while attending daily PT. I was lucky to keep my job and full pay check and remain unsure how others started PT at the rehabilitation center across from the surgeon's office, under the direction of a physiatrist. Mobility was easy enough; but the pain remained, exacerbated by the therapy aimed to correct it. After 2 weeks of full time PT, I returned to the neurosurgeon.
This is where the proof part begins. As usual, the waiting room was full. Only this time I noticed that several patients were familiar to me. I had seen them at PT. When I asked a man, sitting across from me, about his care, a wave of conversation spread across the luxuriously decorated waiting room, which was further stimulated by questions from those who were anticipating surgery of their own. To varying degrees, each of the post op patients had symptoms similar to my own and had been on the receiving end of this reputable neurosurgeon's disdain when reporting their symptoms, whether unchanged or debilitating since the surgery. I've heard about puppy mills and it occurred to me that we were participants in a fusion mill. I never returned. But I did continue Monday and PT as bookends to my return to work and weekly travel.
I was miserable. Work was painful, as was sitting still. I had lost most of the function of my right arm. I had a mylegram prior to surgery; the physiatrist recommended another. In his description, the physiatrist reported that the neuroradiologist who interpreted the films had indicated my surgery was successful.. I had never heard the term, neuroradiologist until then. An avid athlete, I hadn't played sports or made my daily run in months and was failing in my career.
In desperation, I phoned the radiology department at the hospital where the mylegrams and surgery were done and asked to meet a neuroradiologist and explained why. These aren't the kind of doctors that see patients, as I was told. But woman on the phone did something quit exceptional and devised a plan to get me in to see 1 of these specialists. She suggested that I pick up copies of my films and reports and ask to see the next I radiologist and be willing to wait until there was a moment or 2 available for the doctor to review the results with me. I followed her instructions to the letter and, as she predicted, the staff neuroradiologist met with me.
She sat me down at a light box with her; and this remarkable physician showed me, in black and white, what my spine and contrasts engorged nerves looked like before and after having the discectomy and fusion. In the before films, I could see how my spine was pressing down on nerves and causing my symptoms. In the films taken after fusion, I could see nerves that were severed by the cadaver bone that was fully healed. Also, she pointed out the adjacent spaces that developed new impingement and amputation, caused by the placement of the piece of bone, which was the cause of my new symptoms. She assured me that I hadn't been the victim of negligence or malpractice. The surgeons had followed current best practices. She explained that this happens and happens a lot more than anyone is willing to admit.
This neuroradiologist also gave me hope. She believed the damaged nerves would quiet down over time and continued physical therapy. I thanked her. There was no bill for her time, so I sent flowers. I also transferred my PT to the university sports medicine clinic, which practiced under a different theory than the rehab center that had been overly aggressive and agitated the injured nerves, causing re-injury. Over time, I did get better.
Two years after the surgery, the scar on my throat is the only sign of my waking nightmare. It's now 10 years, and I've logged a lot of miles and met a lot of people. The one thing I have yet to find: A single person who has had a positive cervical fusion experience.
Not long ago, my brother turned down his physician's recommendation for cervical fusion, saying "oh no, my sister had it and it almost destroyed her".Posted 11-17-2015 at 09:10 PM by FORGOT_PASSWORD 
