As to the posterior cervical decompression, various doctors choose the posterior method from the back of the neck to do a cervical discectomy. Commonly, that procedure should be applied for larger and softer disc herniations which are to the side or lateral of the spine.
What happens during posterior cervical decompression?
In essence, the regular procedure for that surgery incorporates:
Surgical method where a very small cut is produced inside the mid-section in the direction of the back section of the neck. Soon after that, the para spine muscles could be lifted and treated.
Disc treatment can entail X-ray which could assist to verify that the surgeon is targeting appropriate spinal level. A burr would be applied at high speed to take out a bit of the joint, so that to identify the root of the nerve. A medical microscope could be utilized afterwards to get far better visual photographs. The disc is going to be precisely beneath the root of the nerve and this should be mobilized gently to release the disc. Typically, there is a group of veins on top of the disc that might stop visualization in case they bleed.
Some difficulties and risks involved with posterior cervical discectomy include damage injury to the nerve root; dural leak; spinal cord injury; infection; continuous pain and discomfort; bleeding and recurrent disc herniation. Even so, basically the difficulties are uncommon.
Posterior vs anterior surgical procedure
Perhaps the main benefit of executing the posterior procedure on a cervical disc herniation would definitely be the fact that there’s no need to perform a fusion. That could maintain the regular motion of the cervical spine, that might bring about a much shorter recovery period. Although it might seem desirable to stay away from a fusion, the posterior method has various disadvantages.
Since the spinal cord can impede the view, visual photographs of the disc can be limited and usually solely a lateral disc herniation procedure can be accomplished. In addition, by not carrying out a fusion by means of the anterior, this wouldn’t distract the disc and the related collapse that transpires with the disc herniation could continue and put pressure on the nerves within the foramen. Eventually, due to the fact that the disc is not taken off entirely, this can trigger a recurrence down the road.
In a lot of cases, many health professionals choose to treat the cervical spine whenever when it’s achievable over the anterior for two reasons. For one, this should be a lot more conclusive and dependable process. Another reason is that this approach is typically less difficult technically than the posterior approach.
