Cervical herniated disc surgery is a drastic treatment option for patients who have given up hope for a conservative cure and have acquiesced to operative intervention to heal their painful disc pathology. Herniated disc surgery generally demonstrates disappointing long-term curative results and many patients suffer an immediate downward spiral of agony following their procedure.
It is very important to learn the facts about herniated discs and research both your surgeon and procedure thoroughly before even thinking about going under the knife for a disc pain issue. Remember, cervical herniated disc surgery can always be an option for the future, but once performed, the damage done may be unfixable.
This narrative explores the use of surgical interventions in patients who are diagnosed with cervical disc pathologies.
Cervical Herniated Disc Surgery Data
The various disc surgery procedures all use different methods and ideologies to enact pain relief. However, none really stand out as being good universal choices for most patients.
Remember that the majority of chronic disc pain syndromes are grossly misdiagnosed, which explains why all the conservative therapies up to this point have failed miserably. Given an incorrect diagnosis, what do you think the chances are for surgery to cure the pain? Virtually nil. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial to work towards making sure the diagnostic theory is 100% correct before even seriously thinking about surgical intervention.
For appropriately diagnosed patients who are suffering from foraminal stenosis, surgery may provide relief and at least is indicated in many instances where neurological symptoms can be definitively traced to a bulging disc condition. A combination of discectomy and foraminotomy is usually utilized for treatment. However, these patients represent only a fraction of the countless millions who endure disc surgery every year. Most are wasting their time and money and jeopardizing their health in the process.
Likewise, spinal stenosis sufferers may find lasting relief from surgery, as long as the disc is truly the source of symptoms. In these circumstances, discectomy and laminectomy is the preferred path of therapy. Remember that central stenosis is incredibly common to experience in the neck as we age and most minor to moderate canal narrowing conditions are not problematic.
Herniated Disc Surgery in the Neck
All spinal surgeries may create potentially serious health risks. Cervical surgeries are particularly delicate to perform, given the small structures involved and the close proximity to major blood vessels and other crucial anatomical features.
While the most common surgical complications include spinal fluid leaks, continued bleeding and infection, the real main concern for any patients is certainly failed herniated disc surgery syndrome. This epidemic condition may result from improper surgical technique, postoperative complications, or most commonly, misdiagnosis of the actual causative issue.
Once you go through the horrors of spinal surgery and then learn that the diagnosed condition was wrong all along, you will truly understand the meaning of the words anger and regret. Be careful when making any surgical decision.
Cervical Herniated Disc Surgery Evaluation
While surgery is a vital part of the medical industry, and is truly needed for some disc conditions, statistically it is not the best path for most back and neck pain sufferers. A majority of cervical disc surgery is unwarranted and inappropriate for the conditions treated. Worse yet, most patients are not even healed by the agony and suffering the surgery puts them through.
The extended timeline prognosis for herniated disc surgeries is among the worst in the entire back pain industry. This is ironic, since most patients really put all their faith in the operation as their last ditch hope for a cure. It is a sad situation to be sure.
Most quality enlightened surgeons will even agree that surgery is used too often and too recklessly in the dorsopathy sector. A good surgeon will do everything to allow a patient to avoid surgery, unless it is truly needed due to a dire and definitive diagnostic condition. For more information, I suggest all patients learn more about their procedural options, including the most common: discectomy and spinal fusion.
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