CED Testimonials

January 11, 2003

Today is the third anniversary of my three-level cervical endoscopic discectomy (CED), which was performed by Dr. Schiffer near San Jose, California. Prior to surgery I had radiating pain down my left arm, electrical shock pains down my left arm, frequent numbness and tingling in my left arm and hand, constant muscle spasm pain and tenderness in my upper back, some pain in my neck, and some numbness and tingling in my right arm and hand. My pain ranged from a 3 to an 8. I infrequently dropped things and had lost hand strength in my left hand. My cervical problems affected every part of my life and I was having tremendous difficulty in performing my job and home activities.

I can still remember what my local neurosurgeon told me before I had the CED surgery: "You will be back in three months begging for an ACDF." Well, he was wrong. Scarcely a day goes by that I am not grateful that I pursued my gut instincts and had a CED instead of an ACDF. This is the main reason why i have remained on the forum: I feel a responsibility to share my success in choosing an alternative to fusion.

The good news . . . I got my life back. I live a relatively normal life with only sporadic bouts of muscle pain. I work fifty hours a week at one full-time and two part-time jobs. I drive about three hundred miles per week. I walk about five miles per week and plan to walk more this year. I have no pain, numbness, or tingling in my neck, arms, or hands, except for a slight feeling of deadness at the very tips of my fingertips. I have no scars on my neck.

The bad news . . . if I overdo or ignore my restrictions, I end up with muscle pain between my shoulder blades and occasionally down my entire back. Usually the muscle spasm pain is minor and I use ice or an inferential machine. However, I have had three bad bouts of muscle pain going down my entire back since surgery, two of them this year. The first bout was about two months post op and occurred after I spent two days at an overcrowded conference, sitting in a narrow chair with little back support, surrounded by others and unable to move much. The second bout came after I went on vacation and rented an economy car with poor suspension and then proceed to bump and lurch over unpaved mountain roads. The third bout came after I flew back from Europe in coach and sat for about twelve hours barely able to move. Each time muscle relaxants, my inferential machine, and massage have been able to end the muscle spasms. I have not needed pain relievers.

All in all, I consider my surgery to be a great success. Faced with the same situation, I would choose to have the surgery with the same surgeon again. However, I do not feel that I am 100% recovered from my spinal injury and believe that few spinal patients do recover completely, regardless of surgery or treatment. Spinal surgery should usually be a last resort and one should investigate all options, non-surgical and surgical, before making a decision. Artificial disc replacement and endoscopic surgery will become much more available in the next few years, and hopefully, spinal patients will consider these options prior to deciding on fusion surgery.

K. L. Aguilar