Question
Nimesh C3-4
I am a 42 year male with a prior ACDF on C4-5 and C5-6. Lately I have been experiencing lots of pain radiating down my left arm, deep in the shoulder blade and can no longer do a pull up, push up or tricep excercise whithout my left side colapsing on me. I has an MRI done after complaing of muscle weakness. The results read as follows:
C3-4 Sever central stenonis due to a 9 X 7 X 8 mm centrak disc extrusion which flattens the chord TO 3-4mm in thickness and impinges the chord. There is no associated chord signal abnormality. There is no associated neural foraminal stenonsis.
C6-7 - A mild braod based disc bulge is seen at this level causing mild central stenois. Mild BiLateral neural foraminal stenosis in present due to uncinate spurs
C-7-T1 - A small right sided uncinate spur causes mild right neural foraminal stenosis. there is no central or left neural formanil stenosis.
Arthrodesis in C4-6,
I am scheduled to have surgery on the 24th of Feb, 2009. This has all happened suddenly (scheduleing of surgery) but the pain persisted for 4 weeks. My neurosurgeon is very alarmed at the C3-4 disc and said I need to take care of that immdiately and to do nothing would be the riskiest decision as i can be paralized neck now. I am scared. this is sudded, i have a wife and two beautiful kids... I am just wanting to hear that my neurogeon is dead on right.
I know this is short notice for an answer and pray that you are able to respond. The MRI was none 5 days ago.
in desperation,
Nimesh
AnswerI apologize that it took me this long to respond to your message, I have been very busy with patients here in Saint Louis. I would like to know if you went ahead with the surgery or not at this point because that will change what I need to say to you, so please let me know.
From your MRI, you are definitely having problems and from your neurosurgeons standpoint something needs to be done. However, from my standpoint which is a doctor that can help to correct spinal problems such as your without drugs or surgery, I always suggest the most conservative methods and then reserve the aggressive treatments for a last resort. The beauty of this is that I almost never have to send them for the aggressive treatment.
Again, I don't want to get too into this because you may have already had the surgery, and actually once you had the first surgery you set your self for this one and probably more in your future.
At this point what God gave you has been altered by man and having a surgery every 20 years or so may be what you should do from this point forward.
I always tell people that once you have surgery you cannot change that and you will always have consequences that go along with that decision.
In Your Best Health,
Dr Robert Arnone
Upper Cervical Specific Doctor
"Brainstem Specialist"
Arnone Clinic
711 Old Ballas Road Suite 104
St Louis, MO 63141
(314)995-5719
