@birdman518 Hello, Mitch. I am a spine surgery patient for cervical stenosis and had my surgery at Mayo in Rochester. Your neurologist should have told you that stenosis means a narrowing, so when they refer to stenosis of the spinal canal, that means that the space where the spinal cord is has narrowed due to either a disc that is expanding into that space or bone growth into that space. Stenosis can also happen at the nerve roots which are the spaces between the vertebrae where the spinal nerves exit to go to the body. When you do see a surgeon, ask them to explain specifically what the issues are and explain any imaging. I had consults with surgeons who were unwilling to do this and viewed the imaging before they came into the room with me. The surgeon I hired for the job did explain everything on the imaging and took the time to answer my questions.

It is good to get consultations with several surgeons before you decide to have surgery. The surgeon usually orders imaging and since you can't have an MRI, they might ask for something like a CT scan which is a 3 dimensional image assembled from multiple X-rays. They also use X-rays to show if vertebrae are slipping past each other by having the patient bend the neck while taking the image. Ask for copies of your image studies on disc so that you can take them to appointments for other opinions.

Would you come back and share how your doctors complete your diagnosis while working around your pacemaker? That would be valuable for other patients to know as well. Stop back in if you would like to discuss what you learn and your decisions about treatment options.