Question for those who've had cervical fusion

[49erinnc]

Had my anterior cervical fusion (C5-C6) done on Aug. 15th. They did a complete disc removal, allograft fusion and then screwed in a plate. I'm approaching two weeks now and I'm still feeling a good bit of pain in the rear of my neck (both sides) and some in the deltoid area. I've kind of been experiencing the same amount of pain for the last several days. Not really getting better but not really getting worse. I've probably been a little more active than I should have been as well.

If you've had this surgery, how long did you experience pain? Is it normal to still be in pain almost 2 weeks after surgery? Just seems like I should be feeling a lot better but maybe I'm expecting too much. This was my first surgery of any sort as well.

Thanks

 

[49erinnc]

Bump since this probably got lost in the shuffle. I know several people here have had this surgery so I was just hoping for a little feedback. Thanks.

 

[DurocShark]

Wow. Bump.

And I still have pain from my minor septum surgery from 2 months ago. Not bad, but still there. Any kind of surgery that does more than stitch some skin together is going to be felt for quite a while. Shoot, it's been 18 years since I had harrington rods installed in my back, and my back still hurts.

 

[ArchCenturion]

Bump

Woa anterior cervical fusion don't know what that involves, but it sounds intense.

 

[Kadarin]

Yikes. I was expecting a thread that had something to do with forcibly converting a cervix to helium, so I guess I was wrong... Anyway, it sounds painful and I wish you luck, and I would suggest you check with the doctor to see what aftereffects are normal with this kind of surgery.

 

[49erinnc]

Thanks...

Called the doc this morning but haven't heard back yet. Like I said, I have never had surgery so maybe it's normal to still have moderate pain a couple weeks after a surgery like this one.

As far as the surgery, they basically cut in through the front of your neck (about a 3" incision just beside your esophagus), go in and removed the ruptured disck in your neck. Then they take a piece of bone from a donor bank and insert that into the area where your disc was. Then they screwn a titanium plate to the vertebra above and below that disc area. The goal is to have the inserted bone fuse to your vertebrae but it's not always successful. I have about 12 stiches (2 internal layers) and a very lovely incision on the surface that looks pretty bad now but will hopefully fade over time.

I guess I'm just underestimating the trauma and severity of a surgery like this and expecting to feel great sooner than realistically possible. But with that said, I still feel like I should be feeling better at this point.

 

[alkemyst]

my ex-wife was in pain for a while but her's was right at the axis/atlas. Most of her pain came from the bone graft site in her hip.