Anyone had multilevel cervical spine reconstruction surgery?

@steelme43 Welcome, Heather. My cervical fusion was one level, C5/C6 and my neck motion is nearly the same as before surgery. Most head turning is done by C1 and C2 with help from C3 and C4. Multilevel cervical fixes are mostly fusions. A lot of disc replacements are not cleared for more than one level. You would loose some head turning and neck bending through the fixed levels.

My recovery was 6 weeks to heal the incision, 3 months for the fusion to set and my neck was weak because I was in a neck brace because I had no hardware. It was only a bone disc spacer to replace the removed disc. I did physical therapy for a few months . By 7 months, I felt pretty good. The scar tissue tends to tighten and cause pain, so my PT was doing myofascial release to stretch out the scar, but only after enough healing had occurred. Your recovery might be longer than mine because of more levels involved. Surgeons usually don’t promise to cure pain, and they work to stop further deterioration and to preserve function.

You will have lifting weight restrictions. Mine started at 5 lbs. No bending and twisting after surgery. I put elastic shoe laces in my shoes. I suggest get all your chores and laundry done because you won’t feel well enough for awhile to do these things. You may need help with the kids. You’ll be exhausted because your body will use all your energy for healing. I did not have horrible pain after surgery. The pain meds nauseated me, so I found I could manage without and they cause constipation. I had spine caused pain that was gone when I woke up from surgery. At that point, I had healing pain, The frontal approach causes a sore throat and difficulty swallowing. That lasted about 3 weeks for me. I do periodically stretch out the scar tissue that gets tight again and it’s been 9 years. I have not had any further spine issues.

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience in such detail. It really helps to hear firsthand what recovery looked like and that you found relief after going through it. I’m so glad you’re doing well all these years later — it gives me a lot of hope heading into this.

@steelme43
I am 56 and female plus single parent to teen son. I had ACDF surgery on c5-c6 (2022) and c6-c7 (2025) due to spinal cord compression injury and pinched nerve roots due to stenosis, osteophytes/bone spurs and herniated discs. The surgery from the front is not too bad and recovery can be 3 months+ for full fusion but you can drive after 2 weeks usually. You cannot lift heavy things for a while (limit you to 5-10 pounds for a while).

Do you know if they plan to do your surgery from the front or back of your neck? If from the back, it would be more painful due to cutting through muscle. I also had lumbar surgery (2024) and they went through the back and had to cut a lot of bone to make space for my spinal cord/nerve roots L3-L5. It was the most painful surgery ever but needed it because I could not walk, sit, stand, etc. without pain/numbness from low back to feet.

I may have another cervical and lumbar spine surgery in my future due to congenital spinal stenosis and new herniated discs/bone spurs. The next surgery in my neck may need to be from the back of my neck due to bone spurs near nerves in the front so access to cut away bone growths needs to be from the back.

I am recovering from a 3 level posterior cervical fusion, it’s been five weeks since my last.
I have similar symptoms as you, it was from C4--C7.
I was first given an anterior fusion. One of the screws came loose, they think it was failure of the hardware. So I then had to have the posterior fusion, Which has been much more painful but I am healing. The pain is mostly from muscle spasms, as they have to go through the muscles in the back of the neck.
I’m still wearing a collar, they recommend only walking for now. I hope you can have your questions answered. If you have anterior fusion it is much easier to recover from!
I am 72, older than you. I think it is harder to recover as we age. I believe once I heal a lot of my symptoms will be relieved.

In 2001 I was referred to a neurosurgeon by my family doctor. I could only raise my arms a little bit and it felt like jackhammers on my neck and shoulders. After extensive testing it was determined that Every disc in my neck was either herniated or had a bulging disc. The stenosis was bad pushing against my spinal cord, Dr Thanki proposed a posterior approach to repair and rebuild discs C-2 to C7. He was going to cut a window to take the pressure off spinal cord. The surgery lasted 12 hours. My pain was definitely reduced. I was home for 3 months on cervical brace. Two years later my neck started to hurt again so surgery was done though anterior surgery. This time all discs were removed and were replaced by cages and a titanium rod to support my neck. This surgery took 12 hours and 3 months recovery. Healed with no complications. By the time you need this level of damage it is the last card in the deck. I was told after 3 months I would lose function without surgery. The pain makes the decision. You can't go on with that level of pain-the pain takes over your whole life. Do what you are told to do afterward. You can only lift 5lb. ask for help and get the assistive equipment you need. I'm glad I had it done I was able to work for 9 years. Good luck.

Wow, 12 hours?! That’s insane. I am so sorry you had to go through 2 procedures to help. You’re absolutely right the pain dictates this and I have also been told loss of function is the next step at this point. I am not sure if they will definitely need to do anterior only, posterior only, or both? Also if grafting will be done or hardware. So many factors still to consider based on the nerve conduction test results as well. Thank you so much for your reply, I am so glad you recovered and are OK.

@dlydailyhope thank you for your reply- very helpful and informative. So sorry you’ve had to go through so much. I don’t have a concrete plan as far as if it will be anterior, posterior or both yet. I’ll have the nerve conduction test done Thursday. The pain is not even manageable at this time so I am ready to get the surgery, suffer some through recovery but hopefully come out feeling better finally and regain what I’ve lost as far as strength and nerve function. Again, thank you for taking the time to reply, truly appreciate it.

Over 10 years ago I had a C5-6-7 fusion for severe neck pain caused by arthritis. The neurosurgeon put in a metal cage- anterior route in 3.5 hour surgery. There was very little pain after surgery. I had to wear a neck brace except when sleeping or showering for one month. I could only go for walks and do nothing else. After I could only lift 5 pounds. The C1-4 was inoperable due to severe arthritis and later started to cause pain but not as bad. I am managed with cortisone shots, ablations and gabapentin. Hope your surgery is successful as severe pain is so debilitating

@joannehart oh wow. The sound of a “metal cage” just seems intimidating! But I am somewhat reassured if that’s the route we go that the post-op pain was minimal (however I know we are all different). You’re right though, this pain is debilitating. I’m happy your pain is manageable and all went well for you. Thank you for replying 🙂

@ga29 Thank you so much for taking the time to share that with me. I’m really sorry you had to go through both the anterior and posterior fusions — that sounds incredibly tough. I can only imagine how painful that second surgery must have been with all the muscle involvement, but it’s reassuring to hear you’re healing and moving forward.
It helps so much hearing from someone who’s been through a similar situation, especially at the same levels. I’ve been nervous about what recovery might look like, and your insight about the difference between the two approaches really puts things in perspective.
I hope each week gets a little easier for you and that those spasms calm down soon. Thank you again for your kindness and for giving me some hope — it really does mean a lot right now