Posterior Cervical Surgery

San Francisco neck pain sufferers – get relief with posterior cervical surgery patients 95 to 98% pain relief from symptoms in majority of patients from San Francisco posterior cervical surgery. 80-90 percent of San Francisco arm pain suffered report excellent or great results from this procedure. Neck or upper spinal surgery with the access point being from the posterior (back) postion. It is often referred to as a cervical foraminotomy.

What is it?

Posterior Cervical surgery is a spine surgery used to treat issues in the cervical (upper) spine. The word “posterior” refers to Dr. Abbi’s access point to the spine coming from the posterior or back location rather then from the anterior or front location. In most cases this surgery is performed through tiny incisions and often offered as a minimally invasive procedure. In some cases, however, it is performed as an open procedure. A drill is used during the procedure to widen the space where a nerve passes through the spine.

Purpose

The purpose of this procedure is to remove pressure in the cervical spine that causes neck and/or arm pain in the patient. Accessing the affected nerve root and removing disk bulges or anything else that may be putting pressure on the spine achieve this.

Benefits:

This procedure is most commonly performed as a minimally invasive surgery. Like all other minimally invasive procedures, it allows patients a faster surgery, a short hospital stay or no stay at all and a faster recovery. With the smaller incisions, there is also less blood loss and reduced pan during recovery.

Areas the procedure helps:

The San Francisco posterior cervical surgery, done on the cervical spine (upper back), relieves pain in the neck, cervical spine and arms.

What conditions can be treated?

The San Francisco posterior cervical surgery relieves symptoms associated with radiculopathy, myelopathy, instability caused by degeneration or trauma, infection, tumors and compression.

The procedure:

  The posterior cervical surgery generally takes up to one hour and fifteen minutes to complete. This does not include pre-op and post-op anesthesia times nor does it include time in recovery.

• Before surgery, the patient is anesthetisized and may be given numbing medicine to help with pain.
• Dr. Abbi will make an incision into the skin, through the patient’s back.
• Through the incision, usually tiny ones, the disc will be removed.
• A graft will then be inserted where the disc was.
• The bones above and below the disc will be fused to the graft.
• The incision will then be closed with either sutures or staples.
• The patient will be wheeled to recovery.

Risks:

Every surgery carries risks. Anesthesia complications can include death, stroke, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and drug allergy. However, San Francisco posterior cervical surgery carries its own set of risks, as well. Sometimes there can be issues with positioning, bone grafting, wound infection, discitis, cervical traction, dural tear or CSF leak. Many of these complications are possible in all spinal surgeries, while others are more closely linked to posterior cervical procedures.

After the procedure:

Patients should expect to be monitored closely in the recovery areas following the procedure and administered pain medication and fluids as needed. In many cases the patient will be released the same day, however, sometimes patients will need to stay in the hospital for 1-2 nights. After being released, some patients may need to wear a neck brace for a specified amount of time. In about 1-2 weeks, patients may return to some normal activities including light work, however, a return to regular activity can take up to six weeks.

Cost:

The cost of San Francisco posterior cervical surgery typically runs from $8,500 to $9,000 dollars for the surgery alone, not including anesthesia, operating room facilities or other hospital costs, which are typically billed separately. Insurance affects the out-of-pocket costs for patients.

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Occasionally cervical disc herniation can be address posteriorly. Cervical foraminotomy is the specific name for the procedure performed from the back to alleviate pressure on nerves which are compressed due to a one sided disc herniation. A small hole is made on one side of thelamina, the bone in the back, and any bone or soft tissue that is compressing the nerve is removed. The bone that is removed surgically is not important for the structural support of the spine so removing this bone does not lead to instability or dysfunction. When symptoms of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) perist or worsen despite nonsurgical treatment, your doctor may recommend surgery.The goal of surgery is to relieve symptoms by "decompressing," or relieving pressure on, the spinal cord. This involves removing the pieces of bone or soft tissue (such as a herniated disk) that may be taking up space in the spinal canal. This relieves pressure by creating more space for the spinal cord.