Guys, I am awake so late! I just hit upon some info in older threads regarding the EMG - can having an EMG exacerbate my already bad neck spasms? - reason i am asking this is, I am scheduled for my first EMG in 3 days and might actually plan for the cervical formainotomy a couple of days after that - so I have a baseline EMG. Should I reconsider not having an EMG so close to my planned procedure? Gurus pl advise.

Hi Navneet,

How are you doing with the spasms?

My EMG didn't make things worse, pain wise, but I didn't have the same spasms that you do. I wish I could be of more help. It was a pretty benign test, actually, at least for me. I don't remember much discomfort at all, and my back pain is pretty significant without medication.

Are you checking with the last doctor about your concerns?

Navnett,

I am a lumbar chick so excuse me as I don't know too much about cervical. But i just had a lumbar discogram and read up a lot on it prior to procedure, even though I have had one before. I did see where they don't think cervical discogram is as necessary or as accurate as lumbar discogram.
My advice to you INMHO is to try conservative care first unless there is an emergency to jump into surgery.
Do a lot of research and ask pointed questions of your doc.

Kimmers

Hi every1!
I underwent Post cervical foraminotomy with removal of the disk fragment 2 days ago. so far so good, arm pain appears to have resolved, weakness i guess will take few weeks( 6-12 ?). The pain at the incision site ofcourse was pretty severe to begin with, seems to be getting better. I just hope that everything turns out well.
I am really thankful to every1 here for their precious advice and words of wisdom.
God bless all!

Best Luck- sounds like you took a treat the symptoms approach. Just remember that no matter how good you feel - to be careful with your injury. Your disc is still trashed And when you need to get your disc fixed, avoid ACDF at all costs. Most surgeons recommend it as they've been doin it for years, it's their specialty and they haven't invested in to modernize their skills and practice.

Thx!
ThomasL

Foraminotomy
 

Hey there I just had a foraminotomy on C6-C7 on May1 and was wondering if yous till have residual pain. My pain was minimal before surgery due to cortisone epidural injections however I had weakness and decided to go ahead with surgery. Two weeks post of and i still have pain in arm and numbness, on a level of 0-10 it is below 5.
How is your pain?
Thanks
Rob

Hey Rob
your case appears to be similar to mine. I am about 9 days post-op now, my neck and arm pain is definitely much better, i am now needing about 6-8 tylenol ES in a day, off vicodin almost. I have a cold for last few days and whenever i sneeze, i get pain in my neck, around the site of surgery. I hope it will disappear soon. The weakness in my arm does not seem to have improved yet, I understand its going to take few weeks may be 6-12? what's ur take on this?
Just wanted to clarify, I had a minimally invasive procedure, endoscopically, with 2 cm incision on back of my neck, if u also had similar procedure, then we definitely would be comparable, as the non-endoscopic procedure probably have longer recovery times.
wishing u pain free life

Foraminotomy
 

Hey yes mine was also endoscopic minimally envasive procedure, called laminoforaminotomy using METRXII tubes by Medtronic. My incision is small less than an inch and was outpatient. Doc said I also had some arthritic spurs that he cleared up as well. I had it on Friday 5/1 and back at my desk on monday. Doc said don't lift anything over 10lbs for 2 weeks which I already violated twice and I am upset about that. I have also been taking tylenol during the day as needed and at night sometime a percocet especially yesterday after carrying my laptop bag and a small bag or grocery up 3 flights of stairs :(
I called doc and asked can you do a new MRI but he said not until 6 weeks post op when i see him again. My symptoms now are getting better from the incision, neck was sore and painful for 10 days and starting to feel better today. I wear a soft collar as needed and have been driving also.
My arm pain and numbness persist not like when it first happened but they are there and bother me.

Hi rcphx, could you tell me where you got your surgery done with the METRXII system? I thought that it was hard to find a doctor who uses it. I'm glad to hear that you have great success with it....much better to have a tiny incision than a much larger one. Improvements are coming, slowly but surely! Just think of where we'll be in ten years or so.

Please try to comply with doctor's orders ;) I know it is tough though.

foraminotomy
 

Hi ThomasL,
I did it in Minneapolis at a doctor with the twin cities spine center Dr. Kevin Mullaney. I have to say, as with all of us, we have seen our share of ortho's and Neurosurgeons while dealing with our pain issues. Prior to that I was in Phoenix where I saw Dr Christopher Yeung who also would have done that endoscopically. Dr Mullaney uses the METRXII whereas Dr Yeung said he doesnt use it but the incision would be slightly bigger than the METRX all under an inch. But i was very Impressed and happy with Dr Mullaney's work as far as knowledge, personality, and surgical skills. However, the jury is still out as far as the results I have not done an MRI and I did violate his orders twice. So if for some reason it doesn't work it will not be his fault as I am completely convinced he is an excellent surgeon and did a phenomenal job with me. So if yo live near those two areas or would like more info on Phoenix docs I have seen many from Mayo clinic, to Barrow's neurological insitiute to all the adr docs in phx area.
Hope this helps