Majority who suffers from cervical disc disease usually gets better on their own using conservative treatments. However for severe cases surgery might be your only option. Cervical disc disease is actually an abnormality in one or more discs. Disc might be damaged due to arthritis or unknown cause which will result to neck pain because of muscle spasm and inflammation.
In severe cases, numbness and pain can occur in the arms dues to the pressure in the cervical nerve roots. Surgery for such condition may involve eliminating of the disc that press on the spinal cord or that is pinching the nerve root. This procedure is called Discectomy. The surgeon can remove it by making a small incision either in the front or back of the neck while under anesthesia.
After removing the disc you have two options to restore the spine to its original heights and that option includes cervical fusion and artificial cervical disc replacement. However not everyone is a candidate of artificial disc replacement. Patients who suffer from osteoporosis, infection, joint disease, allergy to stainless steel and inflammation in the affected area is not advisable to have disc replacement surgery.
Cervical fusion surgery actually involves the replacement of damage disc with a bone graft. This will in time fuse with the bone in the spine up and under it. A metal may be place to keep the bone in the spine that is up and under the bone graft in place to ensure healing and fuse with the spinal bones. Cervical fusion in combination with Discectomy can aid in relieving the pain due to spinal disc disease.
Just like any surgery, it carries its own risks even if cervical disc surgery is generally safe. The risk for such surgery includes failure to heal, damage to the nerves, esophagus, vocal cords and spinal cord. Other risks include reaction to anesthesia, infection and excessive bleeding.
After the surgery some people may develop cervical disc problem just above or below the previously affected area. The condition might recur too after a long period of time but in different location.