This is considered "the gold standard operation" for neck and arm pain caused by nerve root compression. It is also used to treat the numbness and weakness in arms & legs that develops with cervical myelopathy due to cervical stenosis (narrowing of the spnal canal due to degeneration or wear & tear)
Why?
Because in most series that have been published, 80-90% of patients are better or pain free afterwards, fusion rates are 95% (i.e. the operation has been a technical success) and it can be done through a very small incision in the front of the neck by an experienced surgeon such as Mr Fagan.
These are good results for any operation.
Now cervical disc replacement has come along, people wonder which is best.
Research shows that the two operations are equivalent, in other words they are both equally effective, at meeting the goals of arm & neck pain relief.
Clearly the advantage of a disc replacement is that the motion segment in the neck is kept moving.
The idea of this is to prevent wear at nearby or 'adjacent' levels.
However - this remains unproven - and in recent studies with a stand alone cage fusion (i.e. no plate and screws are used), adjacent wear requiring surgery is only 5% after 5 years.
So this remains a good operation.
There are times I do perform Cervical Disc Replacement and I will be happy to discuss this with you.
A typical healed incision(with patients' permission); it is almost invisible in the skin crease:
For almost all patients an overnight stay in hospital is all you need.
By the time you are discharged the following day you are well on the road to recovery.
You may notice an improvement in your arm or neck pain already, which is a really good sign of an early recovery from surgery.
No neck collar or brace is required.
Please contact Dan Fagan at SpineArt for further information about the procedure or contact Beverley on 07539 330 360 to discuss your symptoms of neck and arm pain with Mr Fagan.
The package price for this procedure starts at £8260.