Has anyone had herniated discs repaired

[wade3504]

Along with everything else that is going on around here my husband is having surgery on Monday. He has 3 discs in his neck that are injured (one so bad that it is tarting to press on his spinal cord. Our primary care physician put off doing anything about it. He finally sent him to get an xray and then physical therapy after the xray showed nothing. He had major pain in his arm and even though the doc didn't know what was wrong he sent him to pt and he ended up losing feeling in 3 of his fingers from one session of pt. It still took him awhile to decide to have an MRI done and finally allow him to go to an orthopedist. The day the orthopedist saw the MRI results he was on the phone personally calling a neurosurgeon and we were sent over to the neurosurgeon immediately. Anyway, they are going to repair work on the discs and then put a metal plate along the 3 discs that were herniated and he then has to wear a collar for 6-8 weeks after and for awhile can't pick up anything heavier than an empty coffee cup. Anyway, we are looking for people who have had this done so we kind of have an idea what to expect.

 

[Carolyn R]

a very good friend had surgery like this, but rather than the plate being inserted, he opted for the replacement with cadaver bone. It was a decent size incision, he healed well, still need to take it easy and must watch when doing projects that require him to hold his arms above his head or having his head tilted upward for extended periods of time (wiring his basement, plumbing work in the basement, painting a ceiling.,...). He is much better than he was prior to the surgery, but as he says, "I am not getting any younger and my body just can't do what it use to, but I am retired so I need to learn it will get done in due time." He was in pretty good shape after 6 weeks.

 

[wade3504]

Thank you. My husband likes to think of all the things that could happen and I am trying to find as many people as possible who have had experiences with it.

 

[Riverrose28]

My husband just had spinal surgery last summer to fix his. The surgeon only cut him about two inches and went in and cut away the bulging disc that was pressing on a nerve, and stiched him up. He couldn't do much of anything for six weeks, but he was allowed to go into the office and sit at a desk one week after surgery. He is the one that trims my horses hooves and he wasn't allowed to do that for three months, and still can only do one a day, then rest. Also for three months he couldn't lift hay bales or anything heavy, now he does, thank goodness.

On the bad side, I have four daughters, my third born daughter had a disc removed in 2007, steel rods and pins put in. The bones didn't fuse properly, and she also got addicted to pain pills. Since she couldn't exercise she lost alot of muscle not to mention weight, she looked awful, but is now starting to improve and it has been years. The Doctor also wants to do more surgery on her back to repair the messed up job the first surgeon did, but she says not until her son is older. This was in her lower back and not her neck, so much different, and it wasn't a nurosurgeon like my husband had, they are much better experienced.

 

[vvf]

In 1995 I had a 3rd level anterior cervical fusion. They took bone out of my hip to fuse. At the time my doctor called it a radical surgery and i asked what the statistics were for people that had had this done... He told me there wasn't any... Well long story short..... It was the best thing i ever did, relieved the pain immediately, of course I was laid up for 3 months.... But that was 17 yrs ago. So 17 yrs later, I have never had any problems and so happy that i had this done.

I do know a couple people in the last 5 years that had the same surgery, a bone bank was used for them, and their recovery was much less time than mine..

I have a 3" titanium piece of metal, fastened by 6 screws, It does limit my movement in the neck slightly... but not that big a deal. Oh, if i remember correctly, it was C-4-5-6

 

[kmh]

I had surgery for a pinched nerve and a herniated disk on October 25th, 2011. The surgery went well, I could not lift anything for 6 weeks. My therapy at home was to walk, which really helped the recovery process. I had about 8-10 staples in a 3-4" incision. Staples were removed a week later and I am getting along great!

I too had issues with my orthopedic surgeon, who replaced my knee in 2004. Had a very bad recovery with the knee, it would not bend in therapy...scar tissue had set in and locked everything up. In disgust my ortho surgeon took me back to the OR and physcially bent it to break up the scar tissue...that helped alot in future therapy sessions. My ortho surgeon's attitude kept getting worse with time, and he is still not pleasant to work with.

Anyway once my medical dr sent me to the neurogeon, because she felt there was something else wrong besides the knee issues...I have fallen the past 3 years and torn ligaments in the replaced knee. this really ticked off my orth surgeon that I kept falling.

Come to find out my ortho missed the pinched nerve, the neuro caught it and since surgery I don't fall anymore.

 

[wade3504]

Thank you all for replying. Chris had his surgery yesterday and came home today. He had 5 herniated discs instead of 3 and many pinched nerves. He is now pain free in his shoulder and arm and now only has pain from the surgery site and his throat hurts as during this surgery they go in through the front and move the esophagus aside to get to the discs. His left arm is very weak but that is to be expected since he hasn't used it all that much for the past month and a half. He will be going to physical therapy for this. He must wear his collar for 6 weeks and must do lots of walking. He is very happy that the pain is gone.

Our orthopedic doctor skipped the orthopedic surgeon and went straight to the neurosurgeon. He was very young but he did a great job.

Thank you all for the information you gave us. My internet has been down and we didn't get to see all the replies until today but it is helpful still.

 

[Riverrose28]

That is wonderful news! Take good care of him, and maybe baby him for a while, he'll appreciate it.

 

[Katiean]

Thank you all for replying. Chris had his surgery yesterday and came home today. He had 5 herniated discs instead of 3 and many pinched nerves. He is now pain free in his shoulder and arm and now only has pain from the surgery site and his throat hurts as during this surgery they go in through the front and move the esophagus aside to get to the discs. His left arm is very weak but that is to be expected since he hasn't used it all that much for the past month and a half. He will be going to physical therapy for this. He must wear his collar for 6 weeks and must do lots of walking. He is very happy that the pain is gone.

Our orthopedic doctor skipped the orthopedic surgeon and went straight to the neurosurgeon. He was very young but he did a great job.

Thank you all for the information you gave us. My internet has been down and we didn't get to see all the replies until today but it is helpful still.

If he has swelling in his throat, give him ice pops. It helped mine. My Dr. is a spine specialist and top in his field. I had my first surgery in the 1st week of December of '05 and when I woke up I didn't need ANY pain meds. I spent 2 days in the hospital and on the third day I stopped wearing my neck brace unless I was riding in the car or shopping. I did have swelling in my throat and Ice pops were just what the Dr ordered. I also had to eat a very soft diet for a few weeks. I was released from the Dr. for full work the last week of Feb. '06. Then I was leaving work on March 17,2006 (Patrick's Day) and got rear ended at a stop sign. The guy totaled my new mini van. I had to have a second surgery and a larger plate. I never got to go back to work. I have so many angery nerves in my neck that pain is a 24/7 way of life and I am alergic to about 99% of the pain meds. My Dr said that after you have a disc fusion, you do not have any higher risk of re injury than any one else. I wish your husband good luck and don't forget the ice pops.