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Myelogram results

Posted by birdman518 @birdman518, Oct 23, 2021

I had myelograms done yesterday for my cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine.
Since I am primarily looking at what I believe is cervical radiculopathy, I am only posting the cervical results:
C1-C2 level shows mild degenerative joint disease. No canal stenosis.
C2-C3: Shallow disc bulge centrally with no canal stenosis. No
foraminal stenosis.
C3-C4: Diffuse disc bulge. Broad-based central disc herniation.
Posterior osteophyte with calcification of the posterior longitudinal
ligament. Mild degree of uncovertebral joint degeneration and facet
joint degeneration. Moderate to severe central canal stenosis with
flattening of the AP diameter of the cervical spinal cord. There is
contrast surrounding the cord at this level. Mild left foraminal
stenosis. Right foramen patent.
C4-C5: Diffuse disc bulge with posterior osteophyte asymmetrically
more prominent on the left side with a shallow central disc
extrusion. Uncovertebral joint degeneration and mild facet joint
degeneration. This causes a mild to moderate degree of central canal
stenosis. The disc contacts the cervical spinal cord and flattens the
ventral surface of the cervical spinal cord. Mild degree bilateral
foraminal stenosis.
C5-C6: Disc height loss. Disc bulge with associated osteophyte.
Uncovertebral joint degeneration, more so on the right side. Mild
facet joint degeneration. Mild to moderate central canal stenosis.
Mild left and moderate right foraminal stenosis.
C6-C7: Disc height loss with posterior osteophyte and disc bulge.
Shallow left paracentral disc protrusion. This contacts the ventral
aspect of the cervical spinal cord on the left side. Uncovertebral
joint degeneration. Mild central canal stenosis. No significant
foraminal stenosis.
C7-T1: Unremarkable.

I have pain and numbness mostly in my right arm/hand and shoulder, with some effects in my left hand and shoulder.

If anyone had issues similar I would love to hear about them.

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Mentor
Jennifer, Volunteer Mentor | @jenniferhunter | Oct 23, 2021

@birdman518 Hello Birdman! We had chatted in August and then you said you would be waiting until October for your first appointment with a neurosurgeon, so it looks like you did that.

Your results indicate compression of the spinal cord ( I had that too), herniated discs (yes) and bone spurs (yes), and calcification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. Think of that ligament like a huge rubber band on the back of your spine providing support and strength. If it gets calcified, it starts compressing the spinal cord from the back side. You also have spinal cord compression on the front (ventral) side. With the loss of disk height, that puts more pressure on the facet joints (which allow the neck to twist), and with side bending since the vertebrae are closer together, there is less space in the foramen where the nerve roots exit between the vertebrae. Nerve roots are specific to that particular nerve and what it services in the body whereas spinal cord compression can cause issues anywhere below that level since everything is passing through it on the way to the body part it services. You have foraminal stenosis (at nerve roots) on both sides at C5/C6 which does affect the arms.

You have several levels of involvement. In comparison, I had one level C5/C6 with spinal cord compression from a herniated disc and bone spurs with some facet arthritis because my disc had collapsed about 50% in height. I did experience sharp nerve pain in my arms with side bending because the vertebrae were closer together and touched the nerve on bending. I had pain all over my body and trouble walking with an uneven gait because of spinal cord compression. I could also generate a huge electric shock down my body by bending my neck forward. I experienced numbness and tingling in both arms and both legs.

What has your surgeon proposed doing for you? Has he/she suggested both an anterior and a posterior approach to treat the discs and the posterior longitudinal ligament? I had a discussion with another patient talking about this that you may want to look at. Here is the link.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/combined-anterior-and-posterior-cervical-spine-surgery/
I know this can be overwhelming, but it sounds like you have found the help that you need. What do you think about all of this? Has your surgeon explained everything in a way that you can understand?

REPLY
1 reply
birdman518 | @birdman518 | Oct 23, 2021
In reply to @jenniferhunter "@birdman518 Hello Birdman! We had chatted in August and then you said you would be waiting..." + (show)
@jenniferhunter

@birdman518 Hello Birdman! We had chatted in August and then you said you would be waiting until October for your first appointment with a neurosurgeon, so it looks like you did that.

Your results indicate compression of the spinal cord ( I had that too), herniated discs (yes) and bone spurs (yes), and calcification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. Think of that ligament like a huge rubber band on the back of your spine providing support and strength. If it gets calcified, it starts compressing the spinal cord from the back side. You also have spinal cord compression on the front (ventral) side. With the loss of disk height, that puts more pressure on the facet joints (which allow the neck to twist), and with side bending since the vertebrae are closer together, there is less space in the foramen where the nerve roots exit between the vertebrae. Nerve roots are specific to that particular nerve and what it services in the body whereas spinal cord compression can cause issues anywhere below that level since everything is passing through it on the way to the body part it services. You have foraminal stenosis (at nerve roots) on both sides at C5/C6 which does affect the arms.

You have several levels of involvement. In comparison, I had one level C5/C6 with spinal cord compression from a herniated disc and bone spurs with some facet arthritis because my disc had collapsed about 50% in height. I did experience sharp nerve pain in my arms with side bending because the vertebrae were closer together and touched the nerve on bending. I had pain all over my body and trouble walking with an uneven gait because of spinal cord compression. I could also generate a huge electric shock down my body by bending my neck forward. I experienced numbness and tingling in both arms and both legs.

What has your surgeon proposed doing for you? Has he/she suggested both an anterior and a posterior approach to treat the discs and the posterior longitudinal ligament? I had a discussion with another patient talking about this that you may want to look at. Here is the link.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/combined-anterior-and-posterior-cervical-spine-surgery/
I know this can be overwhelming, but it sounds like you have found the help that you need. What do you think about all of this? Has your surgeon explained everything in a way that you can understand?

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Thank you for your detailed reply. The myelograms were just done yesterday. I go back to see the neurosurgeon Nov 11. It is overwhelming, but at least I feel like I am moving forward. I will post again after my next appointment. Oh and I will look at the link you provided. Thanks!

Mitch

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