Question
My father, 51 years young, fell down the basement steps and broke/crushed his c1 and c2 vertebre. Operation is scheduled for wednesday, when they plan to remove some bone from the hip to use to "grow the bones" back together along with using some type of plate. What type of recovery can actually be expected and what range of motion should we expect in the future?

Answer
hi laurie

jeez that sounds miserable. The fusion of steel plate grafted with bone is very sturdy- it's what's in my neck in fact. The range of motion should be close to normal unless they fuse a greater portion of vertebrae for stability. May take some stretching after he heals though.

as long as he didn't injure the cord, which wasn't mentioned, recovery should be no problem.

good luck to you both!
leslie