What are the risks of neck surgery?

Key Points about Ossification of Posterior Longitudinal Ligament (OpLL) It is an uncommon condition that affects people of Asian descent. It occurs when the posterior longitudinal ligament becomes rigid and less flexible. The cause is unknown, but genetics, lifestyle, and hormonal factors play a role.

Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion Complications

• Inadequate symptom relief after the surgery.
• Failure of bone graft healing to create a fusion (a non-union, or pseudarthrosis)
• Temporary or persistent swallowing (medically known as dysphasia)
• Potential speech disturbance from injury to recurrent laryngeal nerve that supplies the vocal cords.

• bleeding or hematoma at the surgical site.
• infection of the surgical site.
• injury to the nerves or spinal cord.
• leakage of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF)
• C5 palsy, which causes paralysis in the arms.
• degeneration of areas adjacent to the surgical site.

While uncommon, as with all surgery there are a number of risks and potential complications that can occur as a result of a cervical decompression and fusion surgery, including: Hemorrhage or formation of a wound hematoma. Damage to the carotid or vertebral artery resulting in a stroke or excessive bleeding, even death.

Conclusion: ACDF leads to significantly improved outcomes for all primary diagnoses and was sustained for >10 years’ follow-up. Secondary surgeries were performed for pseudarthrosis repair and for symptomatic adjacent-level degeneration.

necessary after your anterior cervical fusion, Your complete full recovery could take three to six months. Results take several months, but result vary based on a number of each particular patients’ circumstances, and patients with other health problems might may take even longer to heal.

After surgery, you can expect your neck to feel stiff and sore. This should improve in the weeks after surgery. You may have trouble sitting or standing in one position for very long and may need pain medicine in the weeks after your surgery. You may need to wear a neck brace for a while.

The best sleeping position to reduce your pain after surgery is either on your back with your knees bent and a pillow under your knees or on your side with your knees bent and a pillow between your legs.

Successful nerve growth to the neuromuscular endplate may take as long as 6-12 months after surgery. After this period, nerve maturation and initial muscle recovery may take 12-18 months. Remember our body is hard at work healing before any electrical recovery can even be detected in the growing nerve fibers!

Nerves heal about one inch per month. You’ll have follow-up appointments with your surgeon, during which he determines how your nerve regeneration is progressing. Nerve fibers have to grow down the full length of the damaged nerve to where the nerve and muscle intersect. That can take between six months to one year.

Nerve damage that is a result of medical mistakes or negligence may entitle you to compensation if the doctor or hospital is found liable for the injury.

It usually feels like a stinging or burning sensation. Depending on which nerve is affected, there is weakness as well. These symptoms may last minutes to a few days or months, depending on which nerves are affected and the severity of the injury.

MRI allows to assess the soft tissue and bone marrow involvement in case of inflammation and/or infection. MRI is capable of detecting more inflammatory lesions and erosions than US, X-ray, or CT.

Regeneration time depends on how seriously your nerve was injured and the type of injury that you sustained. If your nerve is bruised or traumatized but is not cut, it should recover over 6-12 weeks. A nerve that is cut will grow at 1mm per day, after about a 4 week period of ‘rest’ following your injury.