Slipped Disc Help

Anne started experiencing pain shooting down her neck to her left shoulder and arm. Eventually the pain prevented her from walking her dogs which kept her in shape, she had trouble sleeping, and was loosing the function of her left arm.

Anne went to her primary care physician which recommended she get an MRI of her neck. The MRI demonstrated a very large C5-6 herniated disc. Her physician referred her to a specialist: Dr. Hamada. Dr. Hamada showed Anne exactly where her pain was coming from and explained how they were going to fix the problem. Anne was a little uneasy about how Dr. Hamada was going to use an anterior approach (front of the neck) but Dr. Hamada explained that This procedure is done through a small incision in the front of the neck resulting in minimal trauma to the neck tissues. This approach allows for minimal spinal nerve or cord traction and thus a quicker recovery period. Often a spinal fusion is done by placing a small piece of cadaver bone in between the two vertebrae. Occasionally, if the surgery involves more than one disc level or there is significant spinal cord compression, the we may need to place a small plate on the anterior cervical vertebrae in order to give further spinal stability. Because bone fusion takes time to grow, you will need to be in a cervical collar or brace for several weeks to allow complete recovery.

Anne underwent a anterior cervical discectomy and instrumented (plate & screws) anterior fusion in April of 2005. Anne said, When I woke up, the pain was completely gone. Anne said she could do everything she wanted to do right after surgery as long as she wore a neck brace while her bones were fusing. Learn more at: www.HamadaMD.com

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