Experience with C3 to C7 Fusion... feedback please

@ckmerc Welcome to Connect. As far as head turning goes, most of that is done by C1 & C2 with some help from C3 & C4. I have a C5-C6 fusion and my head turning range is the same as before my surgery, but I can no longer touch my chin to my chest. With your fusion extending to C3, you understand how much head turning range was lost. I don't think you'll loose any more head turning fusing to C7, but perhaps some of the ability to twist at the shoulder, and you'll loose the ability to flex forward with any level of cervical fusion. I'm sure your surgeon can explain this.

Do you have a date scheduled for surgery?

Thanks for replying.. I am awaiting my surgical consult apt.

I can currently touch my chin to my chest with my current c-3 to c-6 fusion and lean head back pretty far.. but sounds like if I go to c-7 I may see some flex degradation?

I doubt cortisone injection I received today will make a difference…thus I hope I can have surgery done before end of year.

Just not sure how involved everything will be.. ie I have front and back screws and plates on c3-c6…. Will they have to take all of that off and reattach when going to C-7? God I hope not

Chuck

The only thing I can say is try to stretch gently but consistently every day look online , specifically on YouTube to see what other folks are doing as far as relief for certain areas in the back by stretching. I found if you do consistently stretch some of these surgery areas may respond to some relief. Just be very gentle and mindful. Once again, I use castor oil on areas in the spine that hurt along with a small tens machine frequently. After talking to other people, it seems less surgery you can prevent on your spine the better results as they have to cut through and possibly damage many nerves during these procedures. I hope the best for you ,peace and healing.

Thanks so much.. I remember my last fusion 10 yrs ago…recovery took a bit…given all the muscle and etc they had to cut through

@ckmerc Chuck, If they need to put a plate from C6 to C7, it's likely that a plate already on C6 would be in the way and may be removed. If those levels are fused and stable, the current plate may not be needed. That's a question to ask. I think you will loose some flexion and extension range. It depends on how much the mobile levels are doing, and it can put extra wear and tear on the functional levels. I try to be gentle with my neck and hope to avoid more fusion surgery. The more levels that are fused, the greater the stress on the segments at each end of that.

Sometimes the cortisone injection takes a couple days to take effect. Are you going to seek a second opinion?

Jennifer

Yes thanks…. Indeed they may have to remove the plate and install longer one to c7. Not sure..

I am hoping to get a surgical appointment scheduled real soon…(Dr. Thomas Wascher- WI Neurospine center)

This was my dr. From last two surgeries on both my back and neck….he is very good (considered one of the best) and I trust him.

That said…I would love to go with an artificial disc c6-c7 but not sure I will be a good candidate for CDR due to the stress on that area.

So looking forward to discussing options.

You may also be interested in this related discussion:
- ACDF surgery recommended for C3-C7 - is it worth it? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/acdf-surgery-recommended-for-c3-c7-is-it-worth-it/

Thank you very much!

@ckmerc Artificial discs have to be qualified to use next to fusions, and I have not heard of any that can be used next to a 3 level fusion. There is also the issue of instability that will disqualify use of artificial discs. When I was reading about clinic trials, the cutoff for disqualification was 4 mm of slipping. I could have had an artificial disc, but I wasn't a great candidate because I had 2 mm of vertebrae slipping past each other.

It sounds like you have an excellent surgeon in Dr. Wascher. I looked at his website that talks about his statistics. I was hoping to see a picture of him, but didn't find one.

I don't know what your surgeon would say, but a single level fusion can be done without hardware if you stayed in a neck brace until fused. That is what I did, and it was a great choice for me. I know you have concerns about possible removal and replacement of your current hardware.

Thanks so much for the response.. ya the surface area on the bottom of the fused bone of c6 is not as wide as c7 vertebrae. I would doubt I would be a candidate..

Yes I can definitely ask about no new hardware… but won’t hold my breath.. biggest thing is the recovery I had years ago.. with the c4-c6 fusion was not easy (12 yrs ago. When I was 39 yrs old). I had c3-4 fused when I was 15. (Diving accident)

Regarding Dr Wascher.. there is a pic of him on health grades.com. Dr. Thomas Wascher.

Can’t thank those on this site enough for the help and advice.