Cervical spine surgery

Treatment

Cervical spine surgery is a treatment for neurological and musculoskeletal conditions arising from the bones and nerves in the neck region of the spine. 

About the treatment

Cervical spine surgery is a treatment for neurological and musculoskeletal conditions arising from the bones and nerves in the neck region of the spine. 

Conditions

Conditions include radiculopathy, myelopathy, deformity, spondylolisthesis, spondylosis, stenosis, herniated disc.

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Symptoms

Symptoms include neck pain, pain radiating into the extremities, weakness in the extremities, numbness and/or tingling in the extremities, hand clumsiness, balance difficulty, postural difficulty holding up the head, headache. 

Workup

Workup includes in-person clinical evaluation, special X-rays in a variety of positions (dynamic flexion/extension X-rays), MRI, and often CT if there is concern for certain diseases (ie: OPLL) or if there has been previous surgery to the area. 

Treatments

Treatments include non-fusion options as well as minimally invasive fusion options. 

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Non-fusion includes microscopic and endoscopic foraminotomy as well as motion preserving disc replacement and laminoplasty.

Approaches include the front of the neck, back of the neck, or a combination.

If you’ve had previous cervical spine surgery, we always take special care to properly diagnose and often do revision surgeries for pseudarthrosis (non-union or failed-fusion), deformity, and failed instrumentation.