Kendra's story
Artificial cervical disc, arthroplasty
Kendra knew when she was ready for artificial cervical disc surgery
When Kendra first saw Dr. Chris McPherson of Mayfield Brain & Spine, the neurosurgeon advised her not to rush into surgery to replace a damaged disc in her neck with an artificial disc.
"He told me, 'Do it when you're ready. You'll know when you're ready'," Kendra recalls.
Only in her mid-30s, Kendra already had suffered through several years of trouble emanating from her neck. The pain and numbness had radiated down her left arm and spread into her fingers. She couldn't play golf, and she felt pressure in her neck and headaches. Scans showed two herniated discs in her neck, with the discs spilling out and putting pressure on the adjacent nerves. She tried to fight through it, but the pain became debilitating.
During the first week in January, Kendra knew she was ready for surgery. That's when she had trouble holding onto the chicken wings she was eating for lunch. She calls it "the final attack."
"Honestly, I was terrified," she recalls. "The prospect of removing a disc out of my neck still kind of freaks me out. But you get to the point of the pain being so severe that you say, 'I mean, can you do the surgery right here, right now'?"
Post-op imaging showing the artificial discs at C5-6 and C6-7 levels of Kendra's neck
A few weeks later, Dr. McPherson performed the outpatient surgery at the Mayfield Spine Surgery Center. At both the C5-6 and C6-7 levels of Kendra's neck, he decompressed the spinal cord to relieve pressure on the surrounding nerves, then removed the herniated discs and replaced them with an artificial disc at both levels.
A herniated disc occurs when the rubber-like center of a spinal disc ruptures through a weak area in the tough outer wall. That was causing radiculopathy, radiating symptoms such as pain or tingling, resulting from irritation to the nerves as they exit the spinal cord.
Prestige™ Artificial disc
One emerging treatment for those symptoms is insertion of an artificial cervical disc, in a procedure called arthroplasty. Surgeons often recommend the artificial disc for younger patients with an otherwise healthy lifestyle, rather than fusing the two vertebrae together. Patients like the procedure to insert an artificial disc because it is more flexible and allows for more movement than fusion surgery, which eliminates one or more of the joints out of the cervical spine. Inserting the artificial disc also reduces the chance of additional surgeries because the procedure results in less strain on the spine levels above and below the surgery.
"Spine surgery is never a one-size-fits-all proposition," Dr. McPherson says. "Kendra's symptoms had reached the point where they clearly required surgical intervention. We recommended the artificial disc replacement because of her young age, and her outlook should be positive for years to come."
Today, Kendra says she would have had the surgery sooner if she had fully appreciated the benefits. The pain in her arm is gone, and she says she felt better leaving the hospital than going in – "and that's even after surgery." She is starting physical therapy at Mayfield's Rookwood office.
"Dr. McPherson mentioned the fusion, but since I'm so young, he recommended the artificial disc," she says. "He was right."
~ Cliff Peale
Kendra with Mayfield Physical Therapist Tammy Battson
Hope Story Disclaimer -"Kendra's story" is about one patient's'health care experience. Please bear in mind that because every patient is unique, individual patients may respond to treatment in different ways. Results are influenced by many factors and may vary from patient to patient.
Click here to call 513-221-1100