Greetings!!
In 2010, I had severe impingement with pain/numbness to my right arm that lead to ACDF C6/7, which was completely successful and a very easy recovery.
In 2020 I started to have pain in my neck, but no symptoms elsewhere. MRI showed moderate disc degeneration between C5/6 and mild degeneration of C3/4 and 4/5. The doc I saw in 2010 was retired, so I saw a different doc who recommended fusion of C3-7, which I was wary of doing. I got additional opinions from Mayo, another local doc, and Dr Ritter-Lang in Germany. The two USA docs said the pain was cervical facet syndrome and that fusion was not recommended and even if done, would likely not resolve the facet pain. All three docs recommended PT and possibly RFA.
In 2021, I had bilateral RFA to C3-5, which wound up being a horrible experience. The pain was gone, but also was my ability to hold my head up. My head felt like a bowling ball balancing on a golf tee. I had to "balance" my head to keep it upright. If I leaned forward, I literally had to use my hand to push my head back up to a "balancing point". After a few months, this situation got better.
The pain returned in 2023, but much worse than in 2020. I also have significant reduction in range of motion. I still do not have pain/numbness in my extremities. Knowing that disc degeneration will continue and eventually lead to some type of corrective surgery, I started looking for alternatives to fusion, which led me to this site.
Since I'm in the USA, the ADR solution is not approved if there is previous fusion and even if there was no previous fusion, ADR is only allowed for two levels. I am now considering multi-level ADR in Europe. I again consulted with Dr Karsten Ritter-Lang who recommended ADR C3-6. However, I have seen some critisicms of Kitter-Lane, so I am looking at other doctors in Europe. I plan to consult with Clavel, Desai, and Bertagnoli.
I am looking for feedback from anyone who had cervical facet syndrome and ADR. Did ADR resolve the facet pain? Logically, it seems that restoring the space between the vertebrae would also restore the space between the facets and resolve the facet pain. Thanks for listening. 2023 MRI attached
Cheers!
