Anyone Ever Had Anterior Cervical Discectomy Fusion (acdf) Surgery?

lavishsqualor

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 27, 2015
Messages
1,954
Purraise
3,150
Ugh, I'm totally miserable. For years I've had a pinched or compressed nerve in my neck. I have three cervical discs that have herniated and after my latest MRI the doctors are offering me nothing but surgery. It's gotten so much worse over the years that at this point I can barely type. It's excruciating.

As surgeries go, this one is considered highly successful but it's daunting at the same time. They go in through the side of your neck, shift your esophagus and vocal cords over to the side and expose your cervical spine. Then they drill out the herniated discs and replace them with a graft. To finish up they fuse the affected vertebrae together using titanium stabilizers. Mine would take about five to six hours to complete.

Different folks report different experiences with recovery. Some say it's fairly easy while others are miserable. Everyone agrees that the Aspen Collar you're required to wear sucks.

I REALLY hate the idea of having surgery but I just can't take the pain anymore. It's gotten to where it's pretty much constant.

Anyone else ever have a similar surgery? If so, would you mind sharing your experience?

 
Last edited:

Katie M

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 1, 2017
Messages
5,061
Purraise
19,484
Location
Kingwood, WV
No, but I'd be interested in any stories. I have a ruptured disc and multiple Schmorl's nodes in my lumbothoracic. I'll likely need all those discs removed and a rod inserted to correct my scoliosis.
 

Margret

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
Messages
6,497
Purraise
8,927
Location
Littleton, CO
I don't have any specific experience with these problems, but I did get some advice about back surgery from my brother who's had some.

My brother says that his surgery was successful, while many other back surgeries among people he knows weren't, because of one major difference: being the son of a physical therapist my brother has great respect for physical therapists. Unlike the other back surgeries that didn't turn out well, my brother had his as an inpatient, in a hospital setting. Before the surgery he had physical therapy and learned the exercises he'd need after the surgery, and after the surgery he had more physical therapy. And because he knows how important physical therapy is, he did everything the therapist told him to do. The unsuccessful surgeries he knows of were done in a specialist outpatient clinic, devoted solely to doing back surgery, and there was no physical therapy either before or after the surgery.

My brother also says that every once in a while his back will begin aching again, and when that happens he does the exercises the physical therapist gave him, and that takes care of the problem.

I hope this is helpful for you.

Margret
 

DreamerRose

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 11, 2015
Messages
8,744
Purraise
11,085
Location
Naperville, IL
I've had similar surgery twice in the past year in the lumbar region. The surgery is the same, but in a different location. The first surgery was done by an incompetent surgeon (who is no longer with the medical group), and the second by a very good surgeon. The first time, the surgeon did not use the pins, and eventually I had a ruptured disk above the surgery site. I was paralyzed with pain and had to wait six weeks for the second surgery. The second surgery was miraculous. The pain was completely gone, and the nurses and doctor kept pain from the surgery completely at bay.

I am without pain now, but both my son (who also had the surgery) and I agree that doctors grossly underestimate recovery time. Theoretically, I should have been walking without support three months after surgery. It's six months after now, and I am still using a walker or cane and wearing my back brace from time to time. But, and it's a big but, there is no pain.

I had a painful back for so long that I think some of the nerves in the spine were damaged and will never recover. I would urge you to get the surgery as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more likely there will be permanent damage. But in any case, your pain will be relieved, and that is permanent too. There is just no reason to continue in pain when there is a means to alleviate it. It may take a little longer to recover than the physicians say, but so what, compared to years of pain and restricted motion?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

lavishsqualor

TCS Member
Thread starter
Top Cat
Joined
Apr 27, 2015
Messages
1,954
Purraise
3,150
Thank you so much for taking the time to post this. You've given me a lot of very useful information and I am grateful to you!
 
Top