Cervical Spinal Stenosis

Hi Edgar

i had a car accident that affected my neck and spinal cord and had my neck fused. my spinal cord was being crushed with herniated discs. There was stenosis also found so they decompressed as well as fused.

if your wife is only dealing with pain, then pain management "may" help her temporarily. but if she has any loss of use of her arm or hands, then she may not have any choice. see a neuro as well as ortho surgeon and compare notes.

good luck!

Hi Edgar,

If your wife has fusion carried out then it is "possible", that further fusion "may", be required further down the road. Not knowing your good lady's age this is difficult to quantify.I originally had c/s at c4,5,6&7. Because of delays and cancellations, as well as other problems, I never had any surgery. However, I would now require a full fusion of my cervical spine if surgery became my only alternative.

Good luck to you both.

Mike.

I have been having back problems for years but was managing on crutches and with painkillers but in March two of my discs prolapsed and I was in hospital for five weeks in excruiating pain. I had five MRI scans and was told my spine is in a terrible mess and I need a 10 hour spinal operation on various parts of my spine. I asked if I could pay for it but was told it will cost £50,000 and cannot be done privately through the NHS.

Needless to say, I am still awaiting surgery and cannot stand or walk for more than a few minutes so have to use a wheelchair now. I am terrified of the surgery but I have very little feeling in my feet and legs apart from pricking sensations and it is getting worse all the time. I am also suffering from terrible headaches.I pray every day that I will hear from the Hospital but still nothing.

I will keep you updated of my progress.

SYLVIA

Got a bad case of spinal stenosis 8 months after having a TKR done. Mine was the L2/L4 lumbar vertebrae; the pain and numbness was down both legs (like double sciatica) and I could barely walk 100 feet. No choice but to get this attended to.

I was already fused L3 through S1 via rails and screws from a TLIF (from the back) fusion. Recovery was 12 days in the hospital, 6 months in a back brace and 4 months of rehab work. I wanted desperately to avoid a repeat of that episode. Neuro said he could rip out the previous hardware and fuse me L2 through S1...OR...

Do a Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion (LLIF) at L2/L3 where they go in from the SIDE (not back), drill out the bad disk, insert a spacer device, backfill with a bone graft and close. The device can be solid or expandable so that the correct distance between the vertebrae can be restored thereby alleviating the pressure on the nerves and stopping all the pain. IMMEDIATE pain relief, one overnight in the hospital, no brace, no rehab. Miracle op.

See if this can be done on the cervical spine. If yes, find a neuro who has experience doing the procedure. Well worth checking it out.

one more thing ..,before you consider fusion discuss decompression. My left hand was affected because of the car accident, and after six months when it still wasn’t working properly the doctor said that he wanted to fuse two more levels. So I’m fused C34 through C7. but I had said I wanted a decompression not another fusion. I did not go with my gut instinct and agreed to the additional fusion and the surgery in my opinion was a waste of time. After a couple of months then the doctor said well maybe we can go back in and decompress. I told him he exhausted my funds and I would not do anything else. Point of the story is talk about decompression and specifically go with your gut instinct.

As a follow up does anyone know if Stem cell treatment is a viable alternative to try before having the surgery? Some websites indicate that stem cell therapy will help spinal stenosis but I have never seen any post about having it.

Everybody's different. if your wife can handle the pain. then I would wait. My accident happened so quickly I feel as though I didn't have time to think. My bike accident was 12 years ago, so I lived in chronic pain ever since. So 14 back surgeries later and a knee replacement surgery last Friday....and I wonder what the hell went wrong.

try a cervical massage pad, safter then surgery that you aren't sure of, or some kind of magnet brace on your neck area for your wife.

this is the price for spinal cord surgery of fusion:

aminectomy was calculated to cost $77,000 per QALY gained, while spinal fusion surgery was estimated to be $115,000 per QALY gained.

Yes, so now you might know why he has suggested it (damn!).

I think i have all spinal stenosis, all 3 parts(omg!) upper body pain, neck cramps/being pulled down sensation, lower back pain. pressure from abdominal gas/constipation

I am buying a massage pad and see if it works. with heating and balls vibrating