Stenosis of the cervical spine is the thinning of the spinal canal which often a result from conditions like arthritis. It is also a result from poor posture and aging. Through time the disc which support and protect the vertebrae gets worn out so that the bone which comprise the spine lose their flexibility. In some cases this deterioration results to bone spurs which compress the nerve roots.
If this cervical stenosis progresses, surgery might be the option although conservative methods might help lessen the pain. The surgery covers various procedures whose sole purpose is to lessen the pressure on the nerve roots and spinal cord. The surgery then can aid in easing the symptoms which includes pain, weakness and numbness.
Diagnostic tools for cervical stenosis includes myelograms, magnetic resonance imaging, x-rays, CT Scans and nerve conducting studies. Your doctor base on diagnosis may recommend conservative measures like corticosteroid injections, physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medication. If all this fails then surgery is your last option.
If you do not have any choice but surgery then it is important that you discuss everything with your doctor. Know the possible risk as well as the benefits you get and know what kind of surgery you will undergo. There are four types of cervical spinal stenosis. Let’s have a closer look of each type.
Discectomy. This type of surgery is done from the front of the neck. This lessens the pressure on the nerve roots by eliminating any bone spurs and one or more discs. The space created would then be packed with bone grafts which will fuse and makes the cervical spine stable thus functions normal again.
Corpectomy. This type of surgery is often needed for multi-level stenosis. It requires removal of some of the discs as well as one or more vertebra and the resulting space is stabilized by fusion of the spinal.
Microdiscectomy. This type of surgery is also known as facetectomy. This is done in the back of the neck. This procedure is often use if it involves large disc herniation found in the spinal cord. This procedure eliminates any bone spurs and part of the facet joint. This procedure does not need a fusion at all and the recovery is much faster. The only downside is that the condition might recur because the disc may bulge again.
Laminectomy. This therapy is done through the back of the neck also and eliminates parts of the lamina bone found at the back of the vertebrae, disc fragments and any bone spurs.
Each of these procedures has its own benefit to offer thus it is important that you discuss each of this with your doctor before undergoing the surgery. Like any other operation cervical spinal stenosis surgery has its own complications and risks thus it is vital that you talk it out with your doctor and weight down carefully the risks against its benefits.