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This procedure is done from the front of the body through an anterior approach. Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion is a spine surgery procedure performed to remove and treat a herniated, ruptured, or degenerative disc in the cervical spine. As a result of the disc herniation or degeneration patients may experience neck pain, arm pain or symptoms of spinal cord compression (cervical myelopathy). University Spine Associates may recommend a cervical discectomy to relieve arm or neck pain caused by inflamed and compressed spinal nerves and spinal cord that has failed to improve with non-operative treatments.
An anterior cervical discectomy and fusion entails surgical exposure from the front of the neck. The herniated or degenerative disc is removed along with any compressive bone spurs and replaced with a bone graft material that fuses the vertebrae above and below the disc space. Depending on the patient, the fusion may utilize a biomechanical intervertebral spacer to hold the bone graft and also may utilize plates and screws. Many of our patients have the benefit of undergoing an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion as an outpatient , where they go home the same day as their surgery.
University Spine Associates may find you to be a candidate for cervical discectomy if you have:
- A herniated, ruptured, or degenerative cervical disc as determined by diagnostic tests, including MRIs, CT scans, or myelograms.
- Significant weakness in the hand or arm.
- Symptoms of spinal cord compression such as cervical myelopathy.
- Arm pain that exceeds the neck pain.
- Symptoms that have not improved through therapy, medication and other non-operative treatments.
Following the spinal surgery procedure, patients can typically go home the same day. University Spine Associates will schedule follow-up visits throughout the recovery stages to ensure spinal fusion is occurring and address any side effects occurring from the surgery. Recovery time typically lasts anywhere about two to six weeks in most patients. |
