Anyone who has had Cervical spinal compression surgery

@msmith49 - Good morning and please be prepared for a long answer. I have a lot of perspective that might help you work through your not-uncommon pre-surgical angst.

I had what's called an ACDF at C4-7. That was 18 months ago. Today - all my cervical-related symptoms are gone, I feel 99.5% fully recovered, my frontal scar is nearly invisible, and I'm so happy I had that procedure done. Now the details.

The "A" means they come in through the front. Seems counter-intuitive but it works well. The "C" means cervical area. The "D" means discectomy, and the
"F" means fusion. Let's talk about the D and the F.

If your cervical spine is damaged, collapsing, significantly mis-aligned, or changing due to advanced arthritis - one result is your disks between some vertebrae literally break-down and need to be replaced. No amount of PT or drugs will repair that damage once it's occurred. Surgery is the only option.

The neurosurgeon (not an orthopedic surgeon) literally removes the old damaged disks and inserts new disks that the doctors call a cage. Each cage is custom-sized to work for you and mine are perforated to better allow new bone growth to bind the disks to my existing spinal column.

Now the "F". When putting in new cages over several levels of the cervical spine - the spine in that area is weakened until new bone growth allows the patient to return to normal life. There is a period post-surgery where the cervical spine needs extra protection. For me - we decided to install "hardware" which is two plates that screw together the four levels of vertebrae. These two plates assure me of adequate neck stability during the initial six-week recovery period and well beyond. I wore a plastic neck brace (no big deal and not worth worrying about that! You become accustomed to the brace very quickly, I found) for six weeks. NOTE: Sometimes patients don't want the hardware installed and in that case they need to wear a neck brace for a much longer period while new bone growth occurs.

I have not had knee replacements but I have had lower lumbar surgery and I can compare the two by saying the cervical work was a "4" and the lumbar work was a "10".

Please continue to express your concerns. That process can be helpful in undertanding what to expect. What other perspectives can I share?

I fully understand your fears. I had C4-7 ACDF.
You will be just fine. Surgery, while it is major, will go easy. The frontal incision sound worse than it is and will heal quickly and with minimal pain and scarring.
First month have to take it easy as the fusion has to heal and attach. I am in belated therapy and have to work hard to maintain posture. You will be fine and the process sounds more scary than it really is. YouTube has a number of interviews with patients. Check them out

@msmith49 I wanted to welcome you to Connect. You'll find a lot of members here with experience in cervical spine fusion surgery including myself. I see you've already met Phil. I had a fusion of C5/C6 done with no hardware and only a bone graft, so I stayed in a neck brace for 3 months which is how long it took for the fusion process to secure the bones. I was scared too, and when you are entering an unknown, that's a normal feeling. I did not think this surgery was bad at all. It was tiring while I I was healing and I slept a lot because my body needed the rest, but I didn't use pain medicine. It nauseated me, and it wasn't so bad, so I just accepted the pain as healing pain. I can tell you that fracturing my ankle was far worse pain and disability than my cervical spine surgery and for a much longer period of time. Since you've been through knee replacements, this should be an easier recovery since you are not dealing with bearing most of your body weight on the operated area.

Here are some other recent discussions about cervical spine surgery where you may meet and learn from other members.

Spine Health - "Has anyone dealt successfully with Cervical stenosis without surgery?"
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cervical-stenosis-1/
Spine Health - "Cervical disks and heaviness and numbness in legs"
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cervical-disks-and-heaviness-and-numbness-in-legs/
Spine Health - "Cervical fusion of C3-C7 after L4-L5 and S1 - What to expect?"
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/post-lumbar-sacral-fusion-issues/

I have had C1-C5 first posterior surgery in 2001, Dr. Thanki cut a window in my neck because it was pressing on my spinal cord. In 2003, I had an anterior approach to my neck, and all cervical discs were replaced with cages and screws and a titanium rod, everything went well. The worst part of it is the convalesce. Everyone would say to me that this was dangerous surgery and maybe I should reconsider, so much for support. I asked them if they had pain like a jackhammer on their neck that never stopped, they might feel differently. The most important thing is to have total confidence in the neurosurgeon and the team. The incision in the front doesn't feel bad because it is hollow. The outcome was I worked for eight more years and had a little discomfort that I could live with. I know it is scary, but to do nothing means your pain will get worse. Good luck!

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate your explanation and it does help to put me more at ease. I am having the same problem with L4-5 but am going to try injections for it first. My neck is the main thing right now as a high risk of parallelization. I think you explained it better than the actual doctor. Although, I am not sure what all they said after I heard surgery, cages, plates, screws, rods, fusing, and one wrong move right now and I would be like Christopher Reeves. My mind was going a million miles a minute after that. They wanted to do the surgery right away but I postponed it until as long as they would allow to be in September. I am trying my best to think positively about it but I have a lot of pain due to many other health issues so that was and is a huge concern. Again I truly appreciate you taking the time to type out how yours went. If I think of anything else I will come back to ask if that is ok? I usually think of things as I am trying to sleep at night. lol.

Thank you for your reply. I truly appreciate you sharing your experience and I pray you continue to heal from yours. I will definitely look up the YouTube videos. I am trying to stay positive. I have a lot of pain from other health problems so the pain was and is a main concern for me. Thank you again for replying. I don't ever post anywhere so the support I have found on here is truly heartfelt.

Thank you for your reply on your experience. I truly appreciate the replies I have gotten on here. Your reply does put me more at ease. I am trying to stay positive throughout this process. The pain has been a huge worry after going through both knee replacements. That was the worst pain I have ever felt and I was in labor for 21 hours with my son. So the thought of them removing discs, plates, screws, and fusing my automatic reaction would be to think it would be worse. But, after reading your reply it does help to think it will not be as bad as I am thinking it will be. I have never fractured my ankle but I do have multiple torn tendons in my right ankle and that was bad enough. I pray you continue to heal and again I appreciate you replying and for the support. Thank you!

Thank you for replying I appreciate you taking the time to explain your surgery. They scared me by telling me I would paralyzed if I did nothing. I am trying to stay positive and your experience does help so again I thank you. I have a lot of pain from many different health issues so the added pain was a big concern for me after all I have already been through.

A couple add-on comments
1. I suggest you ask some hard questions on recovery time 6 months at least and maybe 12. Don’t let that salesman/Doctor snow you - when you are under for several hours recovery time lengthens
2. What should I expect in terms of a successful outcome - ability to walk , maintain posture, activities, stiffness and
range of motion. Will I feel normal, should I have therapy. Doctors don’t live inside your body and they are selling a perfect outcome. You have to be your own advocate and
Minimize surprises and maximize full disclosure.
Having said that the surgery sounds worse than the actual experience. You will be out and awaken to very positive feelings.

Thank you for your help on what to ask! I need to know the things you mentioned and I appreciate you reminding me it is ok to ask and get the answers I need. Did it take you 6 months to a year to recover fully? How long after the surgery before the pain of the actual surgery lessens? They said I would have some loss of range of motion but that it shouldn't be enough to make a huge impact. I've had pain in my neck for over 20 years but just happened to find out about my neck when I went to the orthopedic for my back. They were worried with the loss of feeling in my arms and legs that it could be related to my upper back. When they did the MRI of my thoracic spine they seen the last 3 discs of my cervical spine and they were so compressed onto my spinal cord you could barely see them. I was then sent to my cervical MRI and I found out the news on how extremely bad they were. Thank you for your help it has helped with the anxiety of it all.