C5-C6, M6 Artificial Disc Replacement @ Stenum 2/12/10

**badbatzmaru** · 02-15-2010, 03:10 AM

I'm doing fine. M6 went in at C5/C6 on Friday around lunchtime. First night was a little tough, I couldn't sleep in the ICU b/c I kept waking up from choking on my throat hoarseness... hit the pain pump several times in the ICU but since Saturday I've just been taking muscle relaxer and anti-inflammatory meds... took vicodin a couple times over the weekend but not more than I had been taking daily for the pain before surgery.

Hand pain is gone. Arm pain is gone. No tingling in my hands. No burning in my arms. Only thing I'm suffering from is some mild distraction pain in my neck. Saturday night I had some crazy wild spams in my right hand, but they're gone now - I think it was from my hand finally getting reconnected w/ my brain after so many months of nasty compression on the nerves. It was kind of cool - I could tell my hand was ALIVE again!!

And an even bigger bonus: I had a nasty backache for the past couple months, right on my tailbone and I was thinking it was because I abused my back too much by being on my feet constantly for the past 2 years (it always hurt too much to sit). The pain was gone when I woke up in the ICU. I think it was related to the myelopathy and the severity of my spinal cord compression.

Stenum has been OK. Not exactly what I had expected... but all-in-all a good visit. I never did get to meet Ritter-Lang in person, which I thought was totally ridiculous. In that sense, it's like a factory just cranking people through the OR as quick as possible. They had so many surgeries slotted for the Friday, that they spilled over into Saturday, which caused some additional headaches since apparently the ICU nurses have different visitation rules for Americans (Fridays) and Germans (rest of the week). The entire clinic staff is very good and the care is overall excellent. I guess I didn't realize I wouldn't get a visit from my surgeon just to say hello and explain the outcome of the surgery. It would have been a nice touch.

All in all I feel great for 72 hours out of surgery.

**Justin** · 02-15-2010, 08:44 PM

Originally Posted by badbatzmaru

Hand pain is gone. Arm pain is gone. No tingling in my hands. No burning in my arms. Only thing I'm suffering from is some mild distraction pain in my neck. Saturday night I had some crazy wild spams in my right hand, but they're gone now - I think it was from my hand finally getting reconnected w/ my brain after so many months of nasty compression on the nerves. It was kind of cool - I could tell my hand was ALIVE again!!

And an even bigger bonus: I had a nasty backache for the past couple months, right on my tailbone and I was thinking it was because I abused my back too much by being on my feet constantly for the past 2 years (it always hurt too much to sit). The pain was gone when I woke up in the ICU. I think it was related to the myelopathy and the severity of my spinal cord compression.

badbatzmaru,

It is so great to read that you are on the other side of surgery and that your preoperative symptoms were addressed with surgery!

Keep us posted on your recovery! After many years of helping Spine Patients (online and by phone), it's still truly incredible to read such dramatic changes so soon post-op.

**badbatzmaru** · 02-18-2010, 09:42 AM

Thanks Justin.

A few tingles and sensations have resurfaced in my right hand/arm but I think its nothing out of the ordinary, given how much the nerves were compressed pre-surgery. I think the nerves are inflamed and need time to de-inflame which hopefully will be progressing in parallel w/ restrengthening my hand and arm.

I do have some distraction pain and stiffness, and have been pretty tired since the procedure (probably partially due to muscle relaxers). BUT yesterday was the first day in a LONG time that I didn't take anything for the pain. And today I'm feeling even better than yesterday. I'm trying my best to take it easy b/c I know healing properly will go a long way for me in the future.

**Dave** · 02-18-2010, 10:18 AM

Congrats on your surgery. I hope you continue to heal well and start living a normal life.

**mike86** · 02-18-2010, 01:49 PM

Here is a question I really want answered: did they give you options on the ADR device? Do they carry other devices other than the M6?

Thanks and sorry for all the quesitons!

**Justin** · 02-18-2010, 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by mike86

Here is a question I really want answered: did they give you options on the ADR device? Do they carry other devices other than the M6?

Thanks and sorry for all the quesitons!

Hey Mike86,

badbatzmaru was deciding between the Prestige LP and the M6. See this thread: Prestige LP or M6.

badbatzmaru -- I'm glad you are feeling well!

**JK2234** · 04-18-2010, 08:31 AM

badbatzmaru I had that same tailbone pain that i dont feel now on my thrird day out of surgery....

To bad my neck still kills me...

**badbatzmaru** · 05-11-2011, 03:02 PM

My update:

OK well, it's been a long time since I've posted.... unfortunately, not all is well.

Tomorrow marks the 15 month post-surgery anniversary. About 5 months ago I started feeling some new and old symptoms... let me try to clarify and articulate: I'd say I never 100% healed from the surgery, but I came pretty damn close. I was feeling great and on the right path for the first few months post-op. Did several months of PT to strengthen my upper back and neck muscles, along with some scapular (rotator cuff) stuff, as it turns out, my right shoulder was very weak from years of nerve compression, although I didn't notice until we started strength testing post surgery.

The good news is, I'm still stronger now than I was immediately post surgery... The bad news is, about 5 months ago, I started to get pretty bad pain in my neck. This was "new" in the sense that most of my pain prior to surgery was the burning/tingling/cramping in my right forearm and hand. I'd say most (not 100%, but the vast majority) of my pre-surgery symptoms were radicular in nature. I hoped it was a flare up and ignored it for a few weeks, but after a while I couldn't ignore the pain (which began to feel like arthritis - and i noticed I had lost mobility and was getting very stiff). I went in for some X-rays and the device looks great, position hasn't changed, but there was clear evidence of bone growth. It looked as though I might be autofusing. After even more imaging (flexion extension xrays, CT scan and MRI) it appears that I didn't auto fuse (yet) as my C5/6 level is still mobile, but I have spurs posterior and anterior... my neurosurgeon here in the states suggested that the neck pain was probably Facet related, since I preserved the motion at the level... he wanted me to have facet injections and sent me to his pain management specialist. (Told me to come back if the pain went down my arm and gave me the option of fusing or foraminotomy - have knife, will cut...)

The referred pain management doctor told me it couldn't possibly be facet pain, and did some trigger point injections at the soft tissue locations where i feel associated pain (upper trap on the right side), to prove that my pain was purely soft tissue related, and suggested all I had to do was stretch, and I'd be fine... In the meantime, I started PT again. Finally, I went back to my original physiatrist, who is a well-respected spine specialist and sports medicine doctor: his theory was that the bone growth is in my foramen and is aggravating the same nerve as before the ADR... this didn't seem to line up with the mostly-neck-pain symptoms I was having at that time (about a 4-6 weeks ago) but he referred to his notes from my pre-surgery epidural injections which suggested my trigger points were excited by the nerve roots touched in the epidural procedure. In other words, in his mind its as simple as, previously it was soft tissue crushing your nerves, and now its bone (which is much worse and why he advocated not doing ADR in the first place).

I didn't fully accept or appreciate his diagnosis, and decided to stick with my new diet of physical therapy and pain meds, hoping things would improve... but it looks like he's probably right as now some of the old symptoms are coming back strong (tingling in the right hand, burning in the forearm, shoulder pain, trap pain). I have an appointment with Dr Delamarter next week to get his opinion on my new images, and what possible treatment options I might have. I'll be in Germany again soon (often there for work) but so far Stenum hasn't responded to my request for a follow-up visit with Dr. Ritter-lang.

B