The spine is comprised of vertebrae, discs, joints, plates and ligaments. Neck pain may come about because of damage or degeneration “wearing out” of these structures delivering degenerative disc disease. Spondylolithesis (spine slippage), aspect Arthropathy (exhausted and thickened feature joints), and Spinal Stenosis (joint inflammation squeezing spinal nerves).

Anterior Cervical Discectomy Fusion (ACDF) is great choice for the treatment of neck and arm pain for herniated slipped disc, spinal stenosis, degenerative disc disease or previously failed neck surgery.

This progressive and safe method is done through minor skin incision with limited blood loss. Fluoroscopy(live x-ray) is utilized to locate the injured level of the spine and then situate a small access tube. Small instruments are utilized to remove a limited amount of bone (laminotomy) necessary for the cervical fusion. A titanium cage is then set percutaneous into the aspect joint to “raise” the foramen and decompress the affected nerve. The cage can be a stand alone cage or a DTRAX expandable cage, depending on the choice of the surgeon. The enclosure settles the spine for hard fusion to happen, thus, stabilizing the neck.

There are numerous favorable factors of minimally invasive cervical fusion including small incision site, preservation of muscle dissection, and limited bone or plate removal. This declines the danger of destabilizing the spine that may prompt extra surgeries later on. The patient often times experiences a quicker recovery and can return back to work in light of the fact that there is reduced post-surgical pain.

Minimally Invasive Cervical Fusion is a decent choice for treatment of neck and arm pain when all other conservative  measures have been exhausted like physical therapy, spine injections and nerve ablations.

Dr. T has successfully performed thousands of ACDF surgeries and takes great pride in providing patients with superior care and concern.