New to you...This Old Neck...

[Diane McKinley]

Right now my entire left hand feels like there are hundreds of pins and needles, and it goes up my whole arm and a little into my chest.

Up until mid July I had been a massage therapist for the last ten years. Now I am OK as long as I look down to the right and put my left hand behind my head......

My MRI shows two levels of severe stenosis and two herniated discs. The neurosurgeon Dr. Timothy Keenan (Portland,OR) has advised fusing my cervical vertebrae, but that they have to figure out of the four levels which three they should fuse.

I never thought I would say this about myself, but I am only (!) 53 and I love to birdwatch, dance and swim...will I be able to do those things with three fusions and one untreated severe stenosis?

I was excited to discover that disc replacement surgery exists, then dashed to find out that the clinical trials are for one level problems and some trials you may be part of the control group and end up fused anyway.

Are there any four level ADR success stories out there? I am being worn down by pain and depression. Thanks for being here! DCM

[Lisibug]

Hi Diane. I am sorry to hear that your neck is in such a bad state. I am a success story. First of all, I had a one level cervical fusion (C5-6)3 years ago. I then had rapid degeneration at 3 other levels, necessitating surgical repair. In March of this year I had 3 level ADR surgery in Germany by Dr. Bertagnoli. I am in much better shape and am very grateful to have been able to have had this surgery.

You have been misled - you can definitely have multi-level ADR through clinical trials here in the U.S. I checked into having them done myself at Texas Back Institute (TBI) and through Rick Delamarter, M.D., in Santa Monica, CA (The Spine Institute). However, insurance wasn't going to pick up my tab on anything and it was cheaper to have it done in Germany than to pay the hospital costs alone in the U.S. Since that time, I have found out that there are some clinical trials that are free. You can check into these and ask for info on these from the people on this forum. However, be sure to check out how the patients are doing in regards to any doctor you are seriously considering. I emailed people all over the world who had had this surgery and most were very happy to email me back and many gave me their telephone numbers inviting me to call them if I had any further questions. I would ask them who had done their surgery, which level(s), how long ago and how they were doing. Many doctors in the U.S. don't have much expertise in this surgery yet and you don't want a surgeon that doesn't perform it correctly.

Sure wish you the best and hope you can find some relief. Please feel free to ask me any further questions. I was in very bad shape before both surgeries and it is great to be getting my life back.

[tmont]

Are there any four level ADR success stories out there? I am being worn down by pain and depression. Thanks for being here!

Hi Diane,

Yes, there are four-level cervical success stories and I'd be glad to put you in touch with one of them if you like. I observed the surgery myself here in France, on a Board member who traveled here for the procedure in January. The surgeon was Dr Phong Dam Hieu and the prosthesis used was the Mobi-C. A second 4-level was done two months ago by DR DH on a 37 year-old woman who is also doing beautifully after serious pain and nerve symptoms in all 4 members. I just saw pics of her in extension and flexion and she does better than me on both--it's amazing. However, unless you speak French I won't be able to give you her number

I also believe there's a 4-level pilot who is a patient of Dr Bertagnoli (Germany) who is doing well too. That was a Pro-disc surgery. Think his name was Randy, but I have no idea how to contact him. I'm pretty sure someone will be able to track him down for you.

I may be wrong, but I fear that for four-level cervical surgery you may have to go abroad. I'm unaware of any four-level operations in the US and they're not every day experiences in Europe either, but they CAN be done and there are skilled surgeons who DO. Don't lose hope.

I'd be glad to get you another opinion on your case if it can help. Dr DH does not charge for evals and has given them to several here on the Board. But strictly from one cervie to another: I'd be leery about fusing three levels and leaving 'serious stenosis' in a fourth. That would not feel right to me and I advise you to get more opinions on your case before you make a decision. Feel free to contact me if you'd like a hand in that direction.

Hang in there; you might FEEL alone but you're not.

Trace

[Lisibug]

The pilot's name is Tim Battle. I spent about 3 hours talking to him prior to my surgery - the first being a two hour conversation, several subsquent shorter conversations and emails. He is a really nice guy and God pretty much did a miracle for him through Dr. Bertagnoli's team. If you go onto Dr. B's website: pro-spine.com and then look up the patient testimonies, you can read about him and email him if you want. Even though he was pain-free prior to surgery, he had a strange symptom and was checked out by MRI and it was found that he had about two weeks before he would become completely paralyzed because his spinal cord was so badly compressed. Long story short - he flew out to Dr. B who performed surgery immediately and he is now doing really well. In about February he said that he was even going to try water skiing or had tried it already (can't remember exactly). He is doing very well, particularly as his case was so severe. He was tremendously helpful to me prior to my surgery and is just a very nice person. I only had a 3 level ADR done, but add to that the single level fusion I'd already had done in between the ADR levels and I have a total of four surgically repaired levels in my neck, C3-7.

[Diane McKinley]

Hello Lisibug & Trace!Thans for the Posts.
I went to see Dr. John Hsiang at Seattle's Swedish Hospital Fri. He is now doing a two level Prestige ADR.
I was just there to get a second opinion of sorts when he showed me my MRI films and for the first time I understood there are four levels where osteophytes are protruding into my spinal cord. I have been in a mild state of shock ever since.
He can do two levels now.
Can he do two later?
It just occured to me that I will have a scar on my neck.
Function first, Beauty second.
Have any of you heard of Dr. Hsiang?
Have any of you heard of the Prestige ADR?

more to follow...

DCM

[Carolyn]

I am new to this site. I found out about a month ago that I have 4 bulging cervical discs. The doctor said I needed surgery soon and the 4 would be fused. The surgery is set for Dec 17.

I had a miserable summer with my neck hurting so badly. I tried chiroprators (2 different ones) and massages. I felt like someone was pulling a cord in my neck very hard. I was most comfortable with my left arm up and behind my neck to keep it from pulling. All of a sudden one day the pulling quit, so I am more comfortable now. I still have numbing and tingling in my arms and hands. Some days I wake up and both arms are asleep, some days just my left arm, and a some days it is my hands. It is very difficult to turn off the alarm. Sometimes I have numbness in my my left outside toes.

I am afraid of this surgery, but not sure what to do. I feel like I must go to Tulsa, OK (Tulsa Spine Institute, Dr. Sherburn). I like what I hear about Germany, but don't think I could ever afford that.

I'm open suggestions and information.

Thanks, Carolyn

[Harrison]

Hi Carolyn, welcome to our community. Can you start a new topic with your post? That way, the new topic is all about you, and how we can help.

(After you do this, I'll delete our posts from this topic.)