What is cervical fusion?
Cervical fusion, also known as cervical surgery or cervical spinal surgery, joins, or fuses, two or more bones in the neck (cervical spine).
There are two main kinds of cervical fusion:
Anterior cervical fusion
During anterior cervical fusion, your team accesses your neck vertebrae through the front, where they remove a damaged disc in order to decompress your spinal cord or nerves. Once they remove the disc, they fuse together the two vertebrae that were surrounding the disc.
This type of cervical fusion works well for degenerative disc disease and herniated discs, among other conditions. The surgeons usually opt for the anterior approach to avoid disrupting the posterior musculature of the neck, if it is possible to achieve the desired surgical outcome this way.
Posterior cervical fusion
During posterior cervical fusion, your team makes an incision in the back of your neck and adds bone graft to the backside of your cervical vertebrae.
Posterior cervical fusions can correct cervical spine deformities, like those caused by kyphosis, help straighten the spine, or stabilize your cervical spine after dislocation or fracture. They can also keep two vertebrae from grinding against one another.
What materials can fuse cervical vertebrae?
Your team can fuse your bones together using a number of materials, including:
Bone graft
Bone graft is transplanted bone that your team either acquires from a bone bank or takes from somewhere else in your body. Sometimes, they use artificial bone graft.
During surgery, they insert this piece of bone between adjacent vertebrae, where the bone graft stimulates new bone growth and helps the existing bones grow together.
Metal implants
The team can also hold vertebrae together using metal implants. The implants stabilize the bones so that they can eventually grow together in the right position.
Metal plates
Similarly, the team can join adjacent vertebrae with metal plates.
Am I a good candidate for cervical fusion surgery?
Candidates for cervical surgery include those who have:
- A misaligned vertebrae
- Sustained an injury that destabilized the neck
- An empty space where the team removed a herniated disc
Cervical fusion may also work well for patients who have just received treatment for conditions like spinal stenosis, scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, or arthritis damage, and need support in their spine.
The Polaris Spine & Neurosurgery Center offers cervical fusion surgery at its on-site outpatient surgery center. For world-class care, and to go home the same day of surgery, book with Polaris Spine & Neurosurgery. Start your journey today online or over the phone.
