Surgical Treatments in the Fight Against Cervical Spondylosis

spinal stenosis

One of the many degenerative diseases that are evident in old age is Cervical Spondylosis. This condition attacks the cervical bones responsible for bending and rotating the neck by forming bone spurs or osteophytes. Sometimes, the condition is also termed as Neck Arthritis. The earliest clinical manifestations of the disease are headaches, neck pain and stiffness. Some people's disease manifestations, however, do not show clinical signs of development until it is elaborately diagnosed with a simple neck x-ray.

Severe cases of Cervical Spondylosis show neurologic and physiologic symptoms that may already alter body functions. Some of these severe manifestations include neck pain that is not relieved by drugs and other homeopathic remedies. Difficulty in swallowing, medically termed as dysphagia, can be dangerous and is observed when the developed osteophytes in the neck area compress the esophagus. Loss of balance may also be an issue when standing and moving about. Bowel and bladder incontinence can be disturbing as it affects excretion of toxins from the body.

Surgery can be the final option when the neck pain persists and radiates in the arms and back. However, some older people believe that this does not work up until advised by experts. Primarily, surgery is done if neurologic symptoms such as falling, weakness and numbness are observed. Your surgeon has the discretion of how to approach the spinal cord which has three areas: the front, rear and side. Usually, some portions of the cervical disc are excavated along with some osteophytes.

The type of surgery that will be used can vary depending on the underlying origin of pain and nerve damage including a narrowed spinal canal or a slipped disc. Here are each of the surgeries and overviews of each of the processes. Laminectomy is one of the most common procedures where a small incision is made at the back of the neck removing bone pieces contributing to spinal cord compression. Foraminotomy, on the other hand, is done by cutting a nerve root at the back of the neck. When a whole osteophyte or bone lump is removed, discectomy is performed.

A new kind of surgery, the Prosthetic Intervertebral Disc Replacement, is performed by removing a worn-out spinal disc and replacing it with an artificial disc to do the same function. This procedure has brought promising results to patients. However, there are still no data on how well it works on a long term basis.