Cervical Radiculopathy: Surgical Treatment Options

When the pain starting in neck travels and gets transmitted to the shoulder and arms, the condition is called Cervical Radiculopathy. If the spinal nerve root gets injured this condition might happen. Pinched is also a term that is used for this ailment. Most of the Cervical Radiculopathy gets cured on its own and some cases could be cured by non-surgical treatments. But rare cases only are suggested to have a surgical treatment.
The surgical procedure will aim at the proper alignment of the spine to provide stability to it and also help in decompressing the nerves. During the growth process the gap between the spine discs increase and weakens the spine. To compensate the problem, additional bones are created that are called as spurs. These spurs might compress the nerves and they are the main reason for the condition. The surgical procedure will concentrate on removing such bones and tissues that obstruct the freeness of the nerves.

Anterior Cervical Diskectomy:

This aims in restoring the correct alignment of the spine. The disc that is causing the problem will be removed completely. The space created by the removal is compensated by the introduction of a bone graft. After this procedure the vertebrae in the adjoining area are fused together with a plate made of metal and screws. Since the procedure is done from the front side of the neck it is called as anterior procedure.

Posterior Cervical Laminoforaminotomy:

The bones that are causing the compression to the nerve are removed and in cases the problematic disk itself will be removed. In this procedure fusion of the spine may not be necessary and the recovery is fast and easy. Since the incision is done from the back of the neck the procedure is called Posterior.

Artificial Disk Replacement:

A mechanical devise is introduced through a couple of incisions made from the front of the neck. In this case even the problematic disk is removed before the introduction of the artificial disk. It could be made of metal or plastic and helps in restoring normal actions of the neck.