Pro-Disc C5-C6 **Please help** Placement?
 

Is my disc in right? too small? forward?

At 4 months post op my neck pain is far worse then before surgery.

Please help advise me.


http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...Y302/neck2.jpg

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...Y302/neck5.jpg

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...Y302/neck3.jpg

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...Y302/neck4.jpg

It is what it is. It looks like the joint is functioning as the relative angle of the plates moves as expected with flexion/extension.

IMHO, if the pain us unchanged or the same pain is worse after surgery, the pain generator was somewhere else and looking at the implantation is a distraction. (no pun intended)

What did C3-4 look like on MRI? discography?

Your disc is not subsided. If it looks the same as it did in the interoperative or immediate post-op images, then it's not migrated.

What were your symptoms like pre and post-op?

Have you tried facet injections at the C5-C6 level on the side your experiencing neck pain?

You listed C4-C5 as having some issues. Could that level have progressed and have become a pain generator?

Is your neck pain at the side of your neck or lower down at the Levator or Trap area?

It looks a little off centre...closer to RT side, and a little taller than the natural disc height. But maybe within the acceptable parameters? I'm no expert.

Thank you everyone...

My C3-C4 had a small bulge/stenosis and is probally getting worse..

My C4-C5 is undoubtedly dessicated w/stenosis and getting worse.

All my pain is in the back of my neck, I get more relief from mobic then percocet. My neuro here in delaware had NOT done alot of ADR's but since im only 30 he didnt want to fuse me. I have medicaid and could not get a 2 level. I have DDD in my low back also so i guess it is what it is.

All your advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you my spine friends...

Im going to post my full Neck MRI later today.

is your pain your pre-op pain or is it changed? did pre-op pains get better and these pains are new?

was discography done?

Based on what you've said, it sounds like you needed a 2 or 3-level surgery and you got what the doctor could do instead of what he thought you needed???

Just got a cat csan today at 5 months...

Please help advise me...

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...2/prodisc2.jpg:(

after surgery
 

It's stated in the opening question posed that pain is far worse post surgery (4 months now). All in back of neck.

I wonder if you had multi level probs and got a one level ADR if that offset the structural balance that you previously had prior to surgery so the pain is an adjustment to one level being worked on. Surgery level may actually be Ok tho other levels are reactive re surgical intervention?

Of course I know nothing regarding this just am thinking this as a possibility because of what you mentioned re the other levels.

Here is my 5 month X-Ray...

Is my Pro-Disc to Forward?

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...02/prodicc.jpg

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...LY302/proc.jpg

If it's not in an optimum position, that doesn't mean it's a problem. Many people have sub-optimum placement without having problems. (Sadly, some surgeons see this as an excuse to accept poor placement as 'good enough'.)

I don't know if you ever answered... is your pain the same as your pre-op pain, similar, or completely different?

Mark

Could this surgery have caused me fibromylagia or does cervical stenosis and arthritis feel the same?

Just wondering if you've seen a neurologist for the source of your pain? What about a pain management specialist?

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...Y302/neck4.jpg

The "surgeon" cut the keel slot wrong. The implant is tilted as is your spine. It changes the vectors of all your vertebra.

He also did not prepare the surfaces correctly. That is another reason it is tipped. Think of it like this. You install a door and the hinges are not plumb and square. It may close OK and look fine but when you open it more than 1/2 way it scrapes on the floor.

It looks to me that the joker who did this was more than sloppy.

http://www.infospine.net/images/pic-neo-disc.jpg
Here is what you need. Even a bonehead like the bonehead who did your surgery could put this in without screwing up. The can't put it in wrong if they prepare the surfaces properly and they know how to use a drill and a screw driver. Even if they do a sloppy job the Neo Disk is forgiving.

BTW, what is the name of the dork who did this to you?

You have big osteophytes.

You lost the lordosis curve.

http://boneandspine.com/wp-content/u...ical_spine.jpg

This is a healthy C-spine. Notice the nice curve. I your X rays the vertebra are all over the place. The vertebrae below the implant are in the correct position. The ones above it are tilted and twisted. This will cause nerve irritation and lots of pain. If you butcher/surgeon can't figure that out key his BMW.

Call a lawyer! Get a chiropractor to look at your films. He will tell you the same thing I told you but without the hyperbole.

Also the implant is TOO BIG!

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...2/prodisc2.jpg

Notice how your left shoulder has pulled up and how your collar bone is distorted.

That disk has made your spine bent and twisted. It is too big and it was put in wrong. You are probably having pain where you never had it before. IMO it you don't get this piece of improperly installed junk removed you will never get better.

I hope the creep who did this to you gets cancer.

ADR seeker where or how did you learn to interpret xrays so well?. I really want to learn. I do love to learn and am especially interested in medicine.
judy

A chiropractor explained things to me. An atlas chiropractor uses very precise measurements when determining vectors for adjustments. They actually use a grease pencil on the X rays.

The films here show a very subluxated C-spine above the 5-6 level and IMO the cause is a poorly implanted Frankenstien disk.

Ball and socket ADRs probably are not as good as a fusion. A real disk is motion limiting but the old style ADRs over rotate and move to far in flexion and extension. The neck moves at that level because there is no resistance.

If the curve gets flattened like in the Xray images there will be all sorts of pain and the surgeon will not connect the dots and when you ask you will get pain meds, vague answers dumb looks and 6 weeks of PT which will me a waste of time in most cases.

I am not a doctor but it dosen't take a doctor to see that this was a butcher job. If you have an honest and competent primary care doctor he will look at your films as a courtesy and if he does he will send you to a good doctor, chiropractor and a good medical malpractice lawyer.

In a nutshell here's the problem as I see it. The Pro Disc is junk and the surgery looks like it was done by a drunk paraplegic.

what it looks like
 

My eye is very untrained but it does look like your upper cervical levels are twisted or torqued and whether they were that way before the ADR placement or not may make a difference as well in terms of feeling worse post operatively as you state.

You mentioned you're medicaid and one level was done while possibly 3 levels had problems. Did your surgeon want to address the worse level and hope the two above would get relief (wondering if you were told this)?

Seems like the ADR is tilted and the disc space jacked up but that's just to me which means nothing except if I saw this on my own films I'd think maybe that was increasing the probs/pain in the levels that weren't treated and are kind of messed up.

ADRseeker has a colorful way of explaining things which while makes sense seems a bit harsh to me however does seem to make sense re what the chiropractor friend explained.

You mentioned you're on medicaid. Did you have HMO insurance that refers you to certain specialist or were you able to choose the specialist on your own? I'm just wondering about this in terms of follow up type of care re your insurance. Insurance limitations can really do a number on the type of followup and limitations we as patients are dealt.

If you are still stuck without answers, I recommend you at least consult with Dr. Zeegers and maybe invest in a trip to Germany for imaging and diagnostics, if not more and better surgery.

The surgeon who did this was a hack. The lodorsis is gone. Your head is tilted indicating that you atlas aka C-1 in tilted. MDs were were not in anatomy and physiology class when they discussed the atlas.

I commented on this before. There may be a fix for you. Your atlas is way out of alignment and it probably was long before Dr Frankenstien got to you. You may be able do salvage this. Hear me out.

I am a huge advocate of atlas othogonal chiropractic. They don't twist and crack your spine. They use gentle activators and a percussion instrument that are safe. When they get you "head on straight" some of the problems may resolve. Try it. It's very inexpensive and it won't hurt you.

All your structure look OK except for the bone spurs and some facet arthritis. It could be mostly a soft tissue problem that is distorting your spine. Even if you need a redo have an aligned spine will make the surgery go better.

Again, IMHO while the implantation may not be optimum, it is not that bad. I have seen much worse with successful outcomes. We don't know what compromises were NECESSARY in the implantation that resulted in the final configuration looking like it does.

The lordosis being lost is because of the levels above the ADR, not due to the ADR.

The CT image leads me to believe that some subsidence could be resulting in the tilt that is shown, but it is not very clear on the xrays.

Calling the surgeon a hack does no one any good. It's easy to assume things and take shots, but it's not helpful.

Mark

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/e...02/prodicc.jpg

Look at the height of the disk spaces and then look at the height of the ADR. It looks like he put in a lumbar disk. That would explain the loss of the lordosis curve. Do you have any pre surgery films. If the disk is too big you might have a lawsuit.

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...qgGS1ZsMq0g0eA

Here is a properly done ADR. Notice that the height is right and the curve is maintained. You got butchered.