C5/C6 C6/C7 spinal cord compression - DESPERATE TO AVOID SURGERY

06-06-2013, 09:59 AM

Hi all,

This is my first post. My boyfriend is 42 years old. He suffered a freak injury 8 months ago at the hands of an inept physical therapist. This injury has left him with herniations at c5/c6 & c6/c7. It is not causing nerve root issue, but rather spinal cord compression directly. We have seen aprox 5 neuros & orthos...it seems to be a split decision on whether or not he is a candidate for surgery. We want to avoid fusion surgery at all costs, but we are at a loss as to whether or not he can relieve the spinal cord compression with alternative non-surgical methods. Does anyone know of anyone who has been through this & come out the other side with positve results? He is in constant pain, unable to work, & becoming more & more depressed by the day. I need help. I am his lifeline & I do not know where to turn at this point....

06-06-2013, 12:20 PM

<< We want to avoid fusion surgery at all costs >>

With all respect, I'm sure you didn't mean "at ALL costs", and I don't want to pick on you, but that's a dangerous way of thinking. Surgery MAY be the best alternative, and if it's the best, then it's the best.

I can't give you much help with alternatives, but if you post the radiologist's report from his MRI, I can at least go over that....

06-06-2013, 12:56 PM

Thanks, WebDozer. I will post the MRI report tonight.

To clairfy, we are extremely cautious about fusion surgery for his situation. His symptoms are constant burning and/or pins & needeles that shoot throughout his entire body...both hands & forearms, right face, both legs, right hip, left foot & penis. No dr. has been able to identify why he is having any symptoms below the belt. And no dr. has been able to give assurance that symptoms will diminish with surgery. He has no loss of motor function or strength. The combination of all this gives us great concern on whether or not surgery will actually help him. We are just so scared that we may make things worse with fusion.

Thanks!

06-06-2013, 03:21 PM

First, cord compression lasting 8 months can do permanent damage to the cord, resulting in permanent pain and weakness/numbness of extremities. I would encourage you to not cross off surgery as a solution. If this was going to heal, it probably would have by now. You can have discectomy without fusion to relieve the compression. I have had neck surgery and really didn't think it was all that bad. In the hands of a good neurosurgeon, he should do well. There are no natural ways of dealing with this. Some people get some temporary relief from steroid injections epidurally, but those may not work if the nerve root is not affected. A lot depends on the extent of the compression, the degree of symptoms (which sound severe), but the longer he waits the more chance of permanent problems.

06-07-2013, 06:41 AM

It's certainly a possibility that surgery will make things worse. It's also a possibility that it will do no more than stop things from getting worse. Still, fusion surgeries have been around a long time. For some surgeons, it's their bread and butter. It's important to get absolutely the best surgeon you can.

It's certainly possible that his symptoms are not caused by a spinal injury, but if their onset was coincident with the PT trauma, then it would seem probably that they are.

I'm still trying to figure out what a PT could have done to cause such injury...

C5/C6 C6/C7 spinal cord compression - DESPERATE TO AVOID SURGERY

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