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Cervical fusion of C3-C7 after L4-L5 and S1 - What to expect?

Spine Health | Last Active: Aug 3 7:01pm | Replies (28)
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@birdiemomma

I'm scheduled for a 4-level ACDF in a couple of weeks and am pleased to hear of Phil's (@upstatephil) recovery. I keep googling different symptoms I've been having, and all of them could have come from the cervical myelopathy! I'm curious - for those that have had an ACDF, did your symptoms all go away?

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Replies to "I'm scheduled for a 4-level ACDF in a couple of weeks and am pleased to hear..."
Phil, Alumni Mentor | @upstatephil | May 26 8:34am

@birdiemomma - I had my 4-level ACDF as step one in a three-step process to address the real symptom: Complete leg numbness happening with fearful frequency. My objective was to address my lumbar area to reduce the likelihood of causing permanent and irreversible nerve damage. Wheelchair?

I know you asked about my ACDF not my lumbar work. But they are connected in my case. The neurosurgeon explained that the twisted body positions required during the lumbar work necessarily placed significant strain on the cervical spine. A weak cervical spine might lead to spinal column damage as a side-effect of the lumbar work. So, fix the cervical spine then work on the lumbar region.

Long story short: I did the ACDF to prepare for lumbar work rather than to manage any cervical spine related symptoms.

With that said - I would consider my ACDF work a complete success. No pain. No symptoms. The titanium plate impinges on my neck twist-range...but the underlying stenosis had about the same effect...

How can I help you?

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