When your spinal column experiences trauma, whether from a car accident, a fall, or blunt force trauma, it may become unstable. Depending on the severity of the damage, your vertebrates may have abnormal movements and your discs may have damage. This not only causes back pain, but it can make it difficult to walk, stand, or sit for long periods of time.
While some people feel that back surgery may damage more than it helps, there are different choices for surgery that will not only relieve pain, but can get you back to the activities you were able to do before your accident. Cervical spine fusion surgery is one option, and surgeons can go through the front or the back depending on the severity of the damage. The main goal of fusion surgery is to provide stability and relieve pain so that you can return to your normal activities and enjoy it.
Anterior Spinal Fusion Surgery
Anterior cervical spine fusion surgery allows the surgeon to gain access to the neck by going through the throat. The organs and muscles located over the cervical area are easily moved aside to perform surgery, so the surgeon doesn’t need to cut through muscle to perform the procedure. Once the surgeon locates the damaged disc, he will remove it and replace it with a bone graft. If more than one disc must be removed, the surgeon will usually screw titanium plates into the vertebrates to assist with the fusion process. The plates provide strength to the vertebrates and allow them to fuse into one solid column.
Posterior Spinal Fusion Surgery
Posterior cervical spine fusion surgery goes through the back of the neck. Many doctors try to do cervical surgery through the anterior position if possible. By going through the back, the surgeon must try to bypass the cervical muscles and nerves. With an anterior surgery, these components stay undisturbed. The severity of your accident and the damage done will determine which type of surgery is best for your condition. The process of fusing the spine works much the same as the anterior surgery, with the main goal to have the cervical vertebrates eventually fuse into one solid bone structure.
