I'm having ACDF Surgery on Friday... (2018 necro thread)
36Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion on C5-C6. They’re slitting open my throat, shoving aside all the junk in there like my trachea, and things like that, the ripping out a disc, scraping off some bone spur, the screwing in a metal spacer and stitching me back up again.
Sounds fun. Anyone else have that done? I’m curious about the recovery experience, specifically timeline.
Thanks!
Oh, I’m a bit nervous, so if you have any horror stories please keep them to yourself. Thanks again!
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Well that sounds terrifying.
Hope all goes well and you heal quickly!
@Thumperchick It feels a bit terrifying, but cheers to quick healing! Thanks!
Good luck… only have ever had one surgery – thyroid removal – it didn’t suck as bad as I thought surgery would
@mikibell Thanks! I’m hoping everything goes smoothly!
Sounds scary! Here’s hoping for smooth sailing and a quick recovery.
Yikes!! Good luck!!!
/giphy piece of cake
@haydesigner I do like cake.
Good luck and speedy recovery!!
Thoughts and prayers for your trachea.
@medz THANK YOU! I probably don’t even need surgery now.
Aren’t you glad you won’t be awake during all that? LOL. You’ll take a nap and wake up to discover they have made you better, stronger, faster (to recover).
Hope your recovery time is minimal and you’re feeling much better in no time. Well, almost no time. Don’t forget to ask the surgeon(s) to be gentle.
Wishing you the best for pain-free days ahead. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Let us know how you are feeling when you regain some post-op strength.
Wow.
Courage to you. And best wishes.
All sorts of hopes that those goes well.
Many projects in the OR these days go very well.
I hope your surgeon and you’re anesthesiologist are the best
We will all be thinking of you. Have a family member do updates until you feel like doing them yourself?
@f00l I’ll be sure to do some drugged out updates for your amusement! I’ve been writing a fairly dull blog lately at humbledave.com so there should be updates there too. Thanks!
Wishing you a speedy recovery so you can go geocaching soon!
It’s two days post-OP, hope all is well! My husband needs to have this done. Too many years spent taking a CAT shot and then slamming back onto a steel deck took its toll. He’s got lots of bits of debris floating around that need to be cleaned out. If he turns his head just so and positions his arm just right, numbness sets in.
He’s adamant he’ll live with it because the very thought of having the same surgery scares him. Looking forward to reading your update.
Happy Easter.
@LaVikinga My surgery is next Friday, but I’ll definitely let you know how it went! Hoping to do a groggy update shortly after the procedure is over.
@DaveInSoCal And this is what I get for reading without enough coffee inside me & too little sleep! I thought your original post was from a few days ago.
@LaVikinga no worries! One of my friends had 3 discs replaced in her neck about 18 months ago and she’s doing great. It’s mostly the anticipation that’s getting to me. That and the total fear of being paralyzed.
@DaveInSoCal Yeah, that little bit about the risk of paralysis…
@LaVikinga I asked my doc about that and he said he’s never had a patient get paralyzed from this surgery. I don’t know if I should be relieved, or concerned because he’s due.
@DaveInSoCal @LaViking Having paralysis can be a challenge it’s life changing but they have surgery for that.
It’s usually a pretty quick recovery. You’d be surprised. I guess it’s because they’re not cutting into the trunk (abdomen, thorax). Abdominal and Chest surgeries seem to have the slower recovery times.
Best of luck - and did you get a fuku?
@Cerridwyn I hear that it’s a quick recovery, so I’m cautiously optimistic.
I actually do these surgeries. The recovery is not bad. On your feet the same day, sore throat for a week, restrictions for a couple months, essentially back to normal in 3 months. And if you’re having the surgery due to a pinched nerve you should feel better right when you wake up.
@PiratePA Nice! Wait. Are you a neurosurgeon, or just a unique type of street vendor? My doc said something very similar. Keeping my fingers crossed that I’m not the exception! Do you think they’ll let me keep the disc?
@DaveInSoCal It’s funny, the inside of the disc is actually the consistency of crab meat so you just sort of pull it out in chunks. It’s not really a discrete “thing” that you could take out and look at. You wouldn’t want to keep any of it.
@PiratePA Crab meat, you say? Mmmmm
@DaveInSoCal @PiratePA AHA! Exposed as a crab meat-selling street vendor! Can’t believe you fell for that one.
I have had the exact level fused that you are getting done. You will feel relief right out of the OR. Make sure you follow the doctor’s instructions regarding lifting and twisting to ensure that everything fuses properly. I was back to work in less than six weeks. I wish you good luck.
@juliethomson Thanks Julie!
@juliethomson Did you lost any mobility?
@DaveInSoCal
I lost about 30% of mobility after the surgery.
Yikes! Wishing you a speedy recovery and lots of feeling better.
Best of everything to you on Friday! Speedy recovery and the surgery being successful
I will send good thoughts your way this week. My last surgery, the week before was more stressful than the recovery afterwards.
I will be waiting for the groggy after post to send viral
I had that exact same surgery in 2006! Fixed 98% of my pain! Recovery was interesting, 'cause you don’t realize how much/often you use your neck! I don’t think I lost any range of motion, even with the fusion. I think they said 6 months for recovery, but it was more like 4 months followed by 2 months of follow up appointments. I’m a recovering Catholic, so instead of prayers, I’ll cross my fingers & all available appendages for you! I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have! Take care of you!
Good luck with recovery! I bet you’ll end up slightly taller!
@LordSalem YES! I was thinking this would happen.
I had the same surgery 5 years ago recovery was quick and I felt so much better right away. You get a partial neck and chin tuck too
. Be sure to follow your recovery instructions about lifting and twisting. You’ll get some nice drugs and a brief vacation. I understand that your odds for a uneventful surgery and recovery are in your favor. You’ll be glad you had it done.
I’m happy to answer any questions to.
Had my C5-C6 fusion done back in 01. It’s a slow, but necessary recovery. The worst part was having to be in a neck brace for 12 weeks after. Just do as the docs tell ya and you’ll be fine.
@ThomasL My doc says no neck brace! We’ll see how it goes!
@DaveInSoCal @ThomasL Wow… never heard that one. My husband, mom and bro in law had that surgery and all wore a collar afterward.
@lseeber @ThomasL No neck brace and seen to be doing well. Incision looks good so far. Spine aches a bit if I forget pain meds, but otherwise okay. I’m limiting my neck movement, but definitely have some range of motion now even during recovery. Finding comfortable sleeping/resting positions was a challenge but I mostly have that figured out now.
So far so good! Follow up with surgeon on the 19th, and parents are visiting until this coming Sunday to help out.
/giphy good recovery
@DaveInSoCal Tell them to make you a ton of dinners that they individually put in freezer zip locks so you don’t have to cook for a while.
@Kidsandliz This is great advice!
@DaveInSoCal @ThomasL Good deal! It’ll get better every day. One thing… after it was totally healed my hubby took a fall and was worried about undoing it so he called the doc. They told him no worries… it’s stronger than it ever was before the surgery, you’d have to go a LONG way to damage it.
Best wishes for speedy recovery and for peace in the days leading up.
/giphy thumbs up
Update:. Surgery was a success. Neck is achey, trachea scratchy. I’m hospital for tonight, hopefully going home in afternoon. Doc found a bunch more bone spurs and got rid of them. Sleeping is hard, do listening to hitchhikers guide to Galaxy audiobook.
Thanks again for all your well wishes! Apparently I’ll also be a little taller. Neat!
Gnight.
@DaveInSoCal
/giphy success!
@DaveInSoCal Sounds all good. Do you get lots of
for the scratchy throat?
@speediedelivery Italian ice, jello, and throat lozenges.
@DaveInSoCal So glad things went well and that they headed off additional problems while they were at it.
@DaveInSoCal Once it all heals up you’ll feel amazingly better than you have in a while.
@DaveInSoCal - Oops, I didn’t get to send prior well wishes, but see? You didn’t need them. You are taller, I can tell. Your voice is lower, too.
Rest well and feel better.
Keep us posted.
You can roll up your shirt sleeves, but I’m worried your pants are going to be too short now.
Are those still called “floods”?
Hubby had that surgery and it really helped him.
/giphy hurray
@mikibell MIBMMTIS, but her hair changing the side it’s parted on really bugs me.
@msklzannie oh goodness…we could ask @narfcake to kindly change it…now I can’t unsee it.
Update: Recovery going well! Finally found a comfortable position to sleep and had 5 hours in a row last night. Watched The Dirty Dozen yesterday so… a good day!
Still feels like I’m swallowing past an abrasive golf ball, but jello! Took a shower last night and felt awesome.
Neck looks pretty good. I mean, totally gross, but pretty good considering they slit my throat open. Weird to think there’s a piece of metal in my spine!
Thanks everyone for your well wishes, memes, gifs, and advice! You’re all awesome.
Oh, and for anyone in southern California, Sharp Memorial Hospital took absolutely incredible care of me. Staff was unbelievably accommodating, nice, and made me feel completely at ease. I have nothing but good things to say about them. If for any reason you need a medical group I recommend Sharp Rees-Stealy and Sharp Memorial.
@DaveInSoCal Much preferred over Dull Memorial. The incisions hurt a whole lot worse.
Glad you’re bouncing back quickly!
@DaveInSoCal I found smaller pillows helped with finding a comfortable position…I know my surgery was nothing compared to yours, but it is weird to have your neck sliced open and not be able to adjust it…you start realizing how many motions impact your neck! And OMG, sneezing was fun!!
Hubby’s biggest complaint was the feeling of a golf ball there also. He slept in the recliner with a collar on.
Anyone interested in a pic of the incision? They gave me internal stitches with a clear glue bandage so it’s just… out there. Doesn’t look too bad, actually.
@DaveInSoCal I am!
@DaveInSoCal You were lucky you weren’t awake when they put the glue on. It burns like crazy for a few moments. Resist the impulse to pull it off when it starts to lift away at the edges. Then don’t sunburn the incision/keep sun off it for at least 6 months and that will increase the odds that it will fade to hardly noticeable as opposed to be red/discolored for years and years.
UPDATE! It’s been 2 weeks and 4 days since my surgery and I’m doing pretty well. My head’s on mostly straight, anyway. Surgery was a complete success. Doc says they found a bunch of extra bone spurs in there and he took care of them while he was in there. Mostly off the painkillers (just at night) and am mobile and driving again (very, very carefully). I’m not supposed to lift anything heavier than a jug of milk.
With all my extra time I’ve been blogging more than usual. Here are my thoughts on using a jug of milk as a unit of measurement. Most of my blog is junk, but I’ll blame it on the meds.
I had an AWESOME experience at the hospital (Sharp Memorial, for anyone else in San Diego) and definitely recommend it for all your hospital needs.
I’ve also developed a philosophy built around Jello.
Anyway, since you were all kind enough to share your tips, tricks, and you know… thoughts and prayers and such, I thought you deserved to know how it all turned out.
edit. Holy shit. I just noticed that I already posted a follow up shortly after the surgery. Totally forgot. Feel free to disregard this post then.
@DaveInSoCal
I had similar surgery about 9 years ago, but instead of fusing the vertebrae, they replaced the discs with Teflon spacers and bolted it all together with a titanium plate.
It was an out-patient procedure, so I got to recover at home, which was great. There was almost no pain and I was back to work in a week. When the nerve to my arm that had been pinched for months began to wake up, it hurt for a while, but actually the biggest problem was not being able to talk. The retractors pull on the nerve to the vocal cords, so I whispered for a while.
I’m glad your surgery went well and you’re back at it. Like you, I was a surgery virgin, and pretty damn scared beforehand, but I guess we can now reassure people it’s not as bad as it sounds.
My husband had this surgery 2 days ago due to RZR accident, launching his head into rearview mirror. Anyway, before surgery he had very minimal movement in fingers/hands. Now 2 days after surgery he can move them just a little more. His was between c 3&4. They want him to do inpatient rehab. Has anyone else been through this? How long until your movement came back?
@mandt4evr That sounds horrible for your husband (and you by extension). That he has more movement in his hands after the surgery sounds encouraging. I hope in rehab his progress makes leaps and bounds. Good luck to you both!
I personally haven’t had that done but my cousin has and he was wishing he’d had it done much sooner. Recovery wasn’t bad with no other difficulties! I’m sure you’re in good hands with your surgeon and his team. I’ll be sending you tons of healing thoughts and positive energy along with prayers for everyone involved!! Speedy recovery is in the mix as well! Go slow!
Well I don’t know if people still use this forum or not so I’ll give it a try! I’m having C5/6/7 fused tomorrow morning. I’m scared shitless to say the least about the surgery. I’ve been dealing with this since January so it’s been 10 months, I’ve had 4 epidurals that help just enough to allow me to drive to work but once they wear off it’s all over. My thumb, pointer and middle finger have been swollen and tingly for months now and I have muscle twitches in my shoulder blade, tricep, bicep and forearm as wel as my thumb, all on the right side. I as well don’t not get a neckbrace but will be staying in the hospital overnight and this Covid thing sucks because my wife cannot come in! Well if anyone is still out there please calm me down.
@robbiemathias I don’t know anything about back surgery so here’s the best I can do:
