Advice & experience wanted for spine disc replacement surgery

[happychappy7]

hi all.

I was wanting peoples advice and experiences please.

i have a ruptured/prolapsed disc on my c7 neck/spine squashing the nerve that feeds my left arm. It happened suddenly after about 4 weeks of neck ache where i thought id just been sat funny at work as i work in an office using a pc all day.

i turned over at 3am in bed and the pain was immense. I lost all the feeling in my left arm and was taken to hospital, morphine and gas and air did not take the pain off for quite a few hours.

its been 7 weeks now and iv seen physio's and had an mri scan. Iv just seen a neuro surgeon who is recommending a disc replacement surgery. The pain in my neck is more manageable but the numbness is still in my 2 fingers and my strength and reflexes and not there at all

i was very fit and active before this happened and its suspended my life.

has anyone had this op or suffer with prolapsed disc's who can share their experiences as im terrified of the potential of what could go wrong. but dont want to be in this pain anymore.

[mrs grissom]

Hi happychappy7 . I had the disc replacement surgery in 2006. Mine was c4c5 . I was told the procedure was fairly new in the UK back then and I had it done privately at Thornbury Hospital ( I had Bupa back then ) . I had the same symptoms as you are experiencing . Pain yes, but mostly it was the numbness that was the worst thing . I was left under no illusions by my neuro surgeon who told me if I didn't have the surgery and pretty soon I would largely lose the use of my arm ! So it was a no brainier really and I had the surgery a couple of weeks later. The Doc showed me a pretty graphic video of the surgery so I knew what he was going to do and what to expect . I think you can see one on YouTube if your feeling brave ! They do the surgery through your throat

[jfish1936]

Yes, I'd say have it!

That spot, with arm problems, is worse than the lumbar discs.

[mrs grissom]

Topic continued .....He explained they have to move your vocal cords and windpipe slightly out of the way to get to the spine and you can experience some hoarseness afterwards . Of course, they are working closely to the spinal column and all the possible dangers that could bring we're fully explained . I had no problems Thank God . I woke up , propped upright in the bed , wearing a large , stiff collar . The incision in my throat was about two inches wide and very thin . He'd done it in a crease so now you can barely see it . It was closed with tiny staples that looked worse than they felt and I had a dry dressing over them that was changed through a little window in the collar . I also had a small drain for about a day ( I think) . I was home after three days and had to take things easy of course . Had to wear the stiff collar for a while but then that was changed to a soft one and a waterproof one for in the shower. I was told recovery should be six weeks , but mine took longer . I had physio and massage which helped the recovery . The worst part for me was a bad pain I was left with between my shoulders . I've heard other people say they've had this too . Nothing worked to get rid of it until I had a course of acupuncture . Now, seven years on , I'm doing fine . Not sure if things have changed since my op but I was told not to jog , do anything involving jumping up and down ( so there goes my gold medal in trampoline ! Lol) and not to swim head out of the water style . As I said , my op was in the early days and I'm pretty sure they'll have improved on things since then . My neurosurgeon himself had the op himself a couple of years after me so that tell you a lot I think. I hope all goes well for you ( I'm sure it will) best of luck .

[happychappy7]

Thanks so much for your reply. It's sounds the exact same thing. I'm trying physio until the appointment comes to see if I can help it bet better quicker in the mean time. :-)