Cervical discectomy

Extrusion of an intervertebral disc can cause compression of a spinal nerve leading to pain, sensory changes, or weakness of the arm/hand. When non-operative measures fail to relieve the symptoms, surgery may be needed. The surgical technique is known as anterior cervical microdiscectomy, which involves removal of the extruded disc fragment thereby relieving the pressure on the involved nerve.

A cervical discectomy is a procedure that removes a damaged, arthritic, or herniated cervical intervertebral disc from the front of the neck. An incision is made on the front of the neck, then the soft tissues are moved to expose the anterior spine. The damaged disc and any bone spurs are removed which are causing pressure on the spinal cord or nerve roots. This part of the procedure is often performed with an operating microscope, using microsurgical neurosurgical techniques. Next a spinal fusion and fixation is performed to ensure stability to the spinal column. To perform a spinal fusion, the surgeon replaces the disc with a bone graft taken from ileac crest or titanium cage or PEEK cage or artificial cervical disc. Sometimes, a titanium plate and screws to fix the bones in place may be needed.