Patient Portal
Anterior cervical fusion involves an incision to the anterior neck, and through this portal,surgeons are able to enter the spine and disc spaces. Disc fragments can be removed, and an anterior metallic plate with screw fixation is applied, to widen and stabilize the gap between bones which had been affected by the disc collapse. Sometimes bone graft material is inserted between the vertebrae, replacing in a sense the degenerated disc. In 4-6 months, the graft material matures, fusing the adjacent vertebrae, and eliminating the painful degenerated disc space that had existed earlier.
MRI images of the lumbar spine
In young healthy individuals, there is a straight alignment from one lumbar vertebra to another, the edges of each vertebra are uniform and regular in appearance, the disc spaces are well maintained (not flattened), the disc walls are straight (not bulging), and the color of the discs on MRI imaging is white, signifying a healthy […]
Lumbar Spinal Surgeries
The simplest lower back surgery is simply to remove the bulging part of the disc, “discectomy” or fragments of bone, “laminectomy” which are in themselves painful, and to remove any impingement or crowding that these structures might be imposing on traversing nerves.
Anterior Cervical Fusion
Anterior cervical fusion involves an incision to the anterior neck, and through this portal,surgeons are able to enter the spine and disc spaces. Disc fragments can be removed, and an anterior metallic plate with screw fixation is applied, to widen and stabilize the gap between bones which had been affected by the disc collapse.