C4-5/5-6 Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion

I've had a very similar experience several years ago, I had spinal fusion surgery at the C5-C6 level, and about 18 months later at the C7-T1 level. Both procedures were done through my throat, and they used a titanium plate and screws. I didn't have any issues with swallowing afterwards, and haven't had any complications. My last procedure was in the Fall of 2018. Both of my neurosurgeons assured me that this was a routine procedure now. I'm not saying it isn't major surgery, but the odds are in your favor that you'll feel better afterwards.

I had ACDF C5-7 in 2019. The pain in my arm was horrible before surgery. There was no pain afterwards. The surgical pain was only between my shoulder blades for about a week. It was manageable. I had difficulty swallowing but that only lasted 2 weeks or so. I have no regrets. It was far less painful than my lumbar spine surgeries. And the outcome was great. The only caveat to that is once you're cleared for PT, keep up with the exercises. I went back into PT this last year for a refresher and am now pain free. My range of motion isn't the best. But I can live with that.

I’m 80 and I had ACDF C4-7 surgery with spacers and a plate anchored with screws on October 20th. I had swallowing problems that was severe. I had problems taking on enough calories to maintain my weight. I lived on protein smoothies for weeks. Then slowly it improved over a period of months. Just recently I was able to ween myself off of the drink. For most of that time eating solid food was difficult and all medium sized meat chunks had to be cut into very small pieces. I had no pain after surgery, only issue is the incision site is completely numb and had some issues shaving. Since then I’ve learned to live with the numbness. Before each appointment with neurologist I needed to get x-rays of the plate to check for bone growth gains and check to see if the screws were still in place. After surgery the neurologist suggested I purchase a bone stimulator. Each day I placed the device on the back of the neck and pressed go. The treatment lasted a half an hour. Last month I was on treatment number 253/270 when the machine stopped working. I was told the magic number was 270. After that you are done and can throw the machine, it can no longer be of any service. Caution, it did cost $3500 and insurance does not pay for it…all in all I’m happy with the outcome. I’m still sore in the neck and shoulders mostly from being in a neck brace 24/7 for over 2 months. My activities are getting back to a certain degree, still figuring that out…hope this clears up some of your issues…

@dani1212 I had an ACDF done at Mayo without any hardware. It was just C5/C6. I had trouble swallowing for about 2 and a half weeks after surgery. It was painful to swallow and it was like one side of my throat didn’t know what to do. You’ll need to be careful and avoid distractions to avoid swallowing wrong. I can swallow fine since surgery, but I don’t have as much sensation in my throat when something is where it shouldn’t be. I do find tucking my head a bit helps everything work right. I can choke on water if my head is tipped back as that tends to open the airway. I have no regrets on the surgery as it gave me back my life and coordination in my arms and cured a lot of body pain. It has been 10 years and all still good. My surgeon had me stretching my neck skin with my hand to make it easier to retract during surgery. I imagine that helped. I also need to periodically stretch the surgical scar because it tends to tighten and I have some shoulder issues with thoracic outlet syndrome and neck muscles get tight. It’s all connected and needs to be stretched.