Surgery coming up…

After having alot of trouble with my neck/back and finding out I have Degenerative Disc Disease, I was told today that I needed to have surgery on my neck. I will be having Anterior Cervical Discectomy on my C5-6 & C6-7.

Here is what the “Professionals” say about the surgery:

Surgical Technique
An anterior cervical discectomy is the most common surgical procedure to treat damaged cervical discs. Its goal is to relieve pressure on the nerve roots or on the spinal cord by removing the ruptured disc. It is called anterior because the cervical spine is reached through a small incision in the front of the neck (anterior means front). During the surgery, the soft tissues of the neck are separated and the disc is removed. Sometimes the space between the vertebrae are left open. However, in order to maintain the normal height of the disc space, the surgeon may choose to fill the space with a bone graft.

A bone graft is a small piece of bone, either taken from the patient’s body (usually from the pelvic area) or from a bone bank. This piece of bone fills the disc space and ideally will join or fuse the vertebrae together. This is called fusion. It usually takes a few months for the vertebrae to completely fuse. In some cases, some instrumentation (such as plates or screws) may also be used to add stability to the spine.

I will be getting bone from the “bone bank”. Ken asked me if they have ATM’s there…hehe.

I am a little nervous about it. Anytime you have surgery around your neck or back there are huge risks involved, but I am also VERY ready to not be in pain anymore! I can use any Prayers & Positive Thoughts you can spare!!!

I will be having the surgery THIS THURSDAY! YIKES!!!