I am one week post acdf c567. When in post op, nurse kept asking me if I had sunburned half of my face. Because I had been in the sun day before, because I was post op acdf coming down from anesthesia, because I was darn happy I could still move my fingers as I have been a T4 paraplegic for 27 years, I really didn't pay much attention to the nurses's remarks about my weird sunburn. When I got to hospital room, my family commented on my drooping eyelid and everyone including doctor thought it was anesthesia related. After I got home and drooping did not improve after 72 hours, I typed eyelid and cervical spinal stenosis in search engine, and guess what? I realized I had the symptoms of horner's - drooping eyelid, mismatched pupils and redness on right side of face. I called the neurosurgeon's nurse who first told me it wasn't related to my surgery(don't you just love it), but, after speaking with neuro, called me back and made an appointment for two days after. My eyelid did improve so I cancelled the appointment, thinking it was resolving, but today I discovered I was back to my new "stroke" look. I will call and get another appointment, but am not expecting much help. My right shoulder hurts worse than pre-surgery, and I have more numbness in right hand now. I also suspect the poor posture I have because of loss of abdominal muscles from paraplegia(car wreck @ 16 years old) is placing abnormal stress on my fusion site. If I hold myself up straight with my arms, my sore throat from fusion disappears. SO! As I am finding out very little about Horners (permanent?), just wondering if anyone has any advice, experience, etc. How long do I wait before I call a lawyer?
Howdy, and welcome to my world.i developed horners after a surgical procedure to try and remove what is called a cavernoma from the inside of my spinal cord.Mine took about two weeks to develop,at least the dialated pupil and the droopy eyelid.Horners is caused by direct damage to the sympathetic nervous system.Sometime during your surgery, the surgeon must have hit the sympathetic ganglia that runs along the outside of almost the entire length of the vertebral column.It would not be all that difficult to do actually considering how the ganglis run.My SNS was damaged up at the C 8 nerve area which is where the 'junction box" of nerves run through.All of the facial symptoms are caused by a damaged facial nerve.I too have the droop and about six months after it appeared, my R pupil finally went back to normal and I regained the sweating back on the side of my face.the droop is only noticable now mostly when I am tired.but now,within the past couple of months, I woke up one morning and lo and behold, the dialated pupil was once again back and is still driving me nuts. In all the research that I have done so far on horners, I was not able to find anything really 'bad" associated with it.However, the damaged SNS has its own set of problems and possibilities.I developed what is called RSD in my R knee and on down through my foot.This was triggered by the SNS damage.but no one can seem to explain just why one person gets it and another does not.I have to stp typing for now as my l hand was quite neuro damaged during my surgery along with a very long list of other things up there in the spine, and my fingers just will stiffen and stop working.if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me, K? If I am up to it, I will answer asap.Take care,and please no that you are not alone out there. FB
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3-22-01,herniated C-6-7
11-20-01,placement of hardware for failed fusion
9-22-03,removal of cavernous hemangioma that was inside spinal cord. Neuro damage to L hand L leg and R leg.
Thanks for your reply. If my eye is improving, it's a very slow progression. My doc is calling it a stretch injury to the nerve that runs to the eye, and seems bewildered by it as it is on the opposite side of where they went in to my neck. I am going to give it five months as I am down one month now from surgery, then request another MRI. My right shoulder, neck and hand are still painful and cramping. The eye droop occurs on the right side also. Am going to start massage therapy soon and I hope manipulation of the muscles, nerves, etc will bring some relief. This may sound weird, but I also am "exercising" my eyelid, moving the lid up and down, moving eye around turning light on and off to help pupil change. I have no idea if this will help, but it makes me feel better - stimulating a damaged nerve. Anyway, any more ideas are welcome, and I hope you had a good pain-free day today.
F
My Dad developed Horner's from having cancer in his upper right lung (before surgery). Eye droop, a hoarse voice, and shoulder pain were his only symptoms. I'm not saying yours is not related to surgery, or that it's cancer, but do be aware there are other reasons for Horner's to start.
Horners syndrome is actually a 'symptom" of sympathetic nervous system damage.Your fathers tumor must have somehow touched or affected the SNS at some level.So sorry about your father.Marcia
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3-22-01,herniated C-6-7
11-20-01,placement of hardware for failed fusion
9-22-03,removal of cavernous hemangioma that was inside spinal cord. Neuro damage to L hand L leg and R leg.
Paraplegia, Cervical Stenosis, Now Horner's 
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