Many patients come to me and want to have the very latest technologies used for their surgery, such as an artificial cervical disc, which is a great operation for many people. Occasionally, patients are disappointed because I counsel them not to have artificial disc surgery because it will not treat their problem adequately. In every case, I strive to do the best operation for an individual patient’s problem, which many times is another type of surgery, such as cervical fusion.
A dramatic example is this patient who came to me a short while after having an artificial cervical disc surgery. She was complaining of worsening weakness and numbness in her hands and arms and stumbling while walking. She had symptoms of spinal cord compression, which is also known as cervical myelopathy.
I performed surgery to remove the artificial disc and relieve her spinal cord compression more completely, followed by a surgical fusion. My surgery was more extensive, but the patient made a great recovery and got back all of the functions that she was losing in her arms and hands.
