Anterior Cervical Corpectomy Spine Surgery Jupiter Island Port St. Lucie Ft Fort Pierce Vero Beach US Virgin Islands Florida FL

What Is An Anterior Cervical Corpectomy And Fusion?

The cervical spine surgery procedure typically involves accessing the cervical spine through an anterior approach, or from the front. Spinal fusion surgery is usually necessary because of the amount of vertebral bone and/or disc material that must be removed to achieve sufficient decompression of the neural structures.

Spinal fusion involves placing bone graft or bone graft substitute between two or more affected vertebrae to promote bone growth between the vertebral bodies. If using the patient’s own bone, an incision is made over the hip to harvest bone from the iliac crest. For the corpectomy, a small incision is made on either side of the neck. (A longer “up and down” incision may be required for multiple corpectomies). The graft material acts as a binding medium and also helps maintain normal disc height – as the body heals, the vertebral bone and bone graft eventually grow together to join the vertebrae and stabilize the spine.

Why Do I Need This Procedure?

Nerve compression in the cervical can cause neck pain and/or pain, numbness and weakness that extends into the shoulders, arms and hands.

Degenerative spinal conditions, including herniated discs and bone spurs, are common causes of spinal nerve compression. Spinal fracture, tumor or infection also may result in pressure on the spinal nerves.

To determine whether your condition requires treatment with an anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion, your doctor will examine your spine and take your medical history, and may order an x-ray, computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of your cervical vertebrae. An anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion is typically recommended only after conservative treatment methods fail. Your surgeon will take a number of factors into consideration before making this recommendation, including the condition to be treated, your age, health and lifestyle and your anticipated level of activity following surgery. Please discuss this treatment option thoroughly with top cervical spine surgeons.

How Long Will It Take Me To Recover?

Your surgeon will have a specific postoperative recovery plan to help you return to your normal activity level as soon as possible after the cervical spine surgery. Most patients experience only mild discomfort at the operative site, which is generally well controlled with oral pain medicines. A mild sore throat is not uncommon and is usually short lived. Most patients are discharged from the hospital in 24-48 hours after the cervical spine surgery. Following an anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion, you may notice an immediate improvement of some or all of your symptoms; other symptoms may improve more gradually. The amount of time that you have to stay in the hospital will depend on your treatment plan. How quickly you return to work and your normal activities will depend on how well your body heals and the type of work/activity level you plan to return to. A successful outcome will depend on your compliance with the health care provider’s recommendations, and a realistic expectation for meeting the goals of surgery (which depend on one’s condition preoperatively).

Work closely with your spinal surgeon to determine the appropriate recovery protocol for you, and follow his or her instructions to optimize the healing process after your cervical spine surgery.

To determine whether you are a candidate for an anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion, please contact Dr. Lenard.

Spine Surgery Procedures

Here are a few of the spinal surgeries and cutting-edge techniques Dr. Lenard uses:

Cervical Laminoplasty

Cervical Laminoplasty is the reshaping and repositioning of bones to relieve pressure on the spinal nerves in the cervical spine (neck). It is commonly performed to treat spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal canal). Read More

Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion

An anterior lumbar interbody fusion is removing of disc or bone material from between two adjacent lumbar (lower back) vertebrae. The space is then bridged with a bone or metal spacer. It is can be performed as an open surgery or using minimally invasive techniques. Read More

Lumbar Laminectomy

A lumbar laminectomy is a procedure in which bone is removed from the lower spine. It relieves pressure on the spinal nerve. It is performed to treat pain from pressure on the nerve from lumbar stenosis. Read More

PLIF and TLIF

Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion are two types of spinal fusion procedures that mend the spinal bones together. Both of these procedures are used through an incision in the posterior (back) and are minimally invasive. Read More

Balloon Kyphoplasty

A balloon kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure that is used to treat vertebral compression fractures (VCF). These fractures are often painful and limit spine mobility, and are commonly caused by osteoporosis, spinal tumors, or traumatic injury. In kyphoplasty, small incisions are made in the back and tiny balloons are inflated next to the fracture in order to push the bones back into place. The bone is then cemented in place in order to strengthen it and to stabilize the fracture. Read More

Microdiscectomy

Microdiscectomy, which is also referred to as microlumbar discectomy (MLD), is a procedure performed to relieve pain for patients with a herniated disc. The cause of the pain is the soft gel in the center of the disc leaking out and putting pressure on a nerve root. MLD consists of a minimally invasive removal of the herniated portion of the disc (the jelly) and any broken disc fragments. It is one of the most common surgeries performed by spinal surgeons, if not the most common. Read More

Spinal Fusion Surgery

A spinal fusion is a procedure that involves placing bone graft material between adjacent vertebrae to promote bone growth that joins together, or “fuses” the two structures. The procedure can be performed using minimally invasive surgical techniques in some cases. Read More

XLIF

Extreme lateral interbody fusion (XLIF) is an approach to spinal fusion in which the surgeon accesses the discs between vertebrae and fuses the lumbar (lower spine) using a surgical approach from the side of the body, rather than the front or back. Read More

Posterior Cervical Foraminotomy

A posterior cervical foraminotomy is a minimally invasive procedure used to relieve the symptoms of a pinched nerve in the cervical spine (neck). A posterior cervical foraminotomy enlarges the neural foramen around a pinched nerve. The neural foramen is the opening through which a nerve root exits the spine. Read More

Posterior Cervical Fusion

Posterior cervical fusion is a procedure that allows two or more vertebrae (bones) in the cervical spine (neck) to grow together into one solid bone. It is done through an incision in the back of the neck. A bone graft is attached to allow the vertebrae to fuse together. Read More

Cervical Laminectomy and Fusion

A cervical laminectomy and fusion is a procedure to make the spinal canal larger by removing the spinous process (bony projection on the back of a vertebra) and lamina (bony arch on either side of the spinous process). Read More

Stem Cell Therapy for Back Pain

Stem cell therapy is a treatment that can be used for severe spinal cord injuries that result in damage to nerve cells in the spine. Stem cells can be used to repair or replace the nerve cells in the spine which were killed as a result of the injury to the spine. Read More

Anterior Cervical Corpectomy Spine Surgery

An anterior cervical corpectomy spine surgery and fusion is removal of vertebral bone and spinal disc material. It is performed in order to reduce pressure on the spinal cord and spinal nerves in the cervical spine (neck). Spinal fusion is the placing of bone grafts between the vertebrae to promote bone growth. Read More

Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion

An anterior cervical discectomy and fusion is the most common procedure used to treat damaged cervical discs. It relieves pressure on the nerve roots or spinal cord by removing the ruptured disc. A bone graft is then placed in the space previously occupied by the disc. Read More

VIA Disc NP

VIA Disc NP is a non-surgical off-the-shelf, processed human nucleus pulposus (NP) allograft intended to supplement degenerated intervertebral discs (IVDs). Read More

Anterior Cervical Corpectomy Spine Surgery

What Is An Anterior Cervical Corpectomy And Fusion?

Why Do I Need This Procedure?

How Long Will It Take Me To Recover?

Spine Surgery Procedures

Cervical Laminoplasty

Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion

Lumbar Laminectomy

PLIF and TLIF

Balloon Kyphoplasty

Microdiscectomy

Spinal Fusion Surgery

XLIF

Posterior Cervical Foraminotomy

Posterior Cervical Fusion

Cervical Laminectomy and Fusion

Stem Cell Therapy for Back Pain

Anterior Cervical Corpectomy Spine Surgery

Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion

VIA Disc NP

Contact Dr. Alexander Lenard

561-836-7248