History :
A 77-year-old gentleman had undergone a neck surgery for cervical myelopathy in 2018 at a different hospital. The surgery involved C5 to C7 approching the spine from front and instrumentation with fusion.
He remained asymptomatic for 5 yrs but six months ago he came to Best Spine Surgeons in Pune Dr. Sangram Rajale when he began experiencing tingling in both upper limbs, numbness in his right limb, and a decline in fine motor abilities such as difficulty buttoning and unbuttoning shirts, holding utensils, and eating independently. He also noticed imbalance while walking and found climbing stairs challenging.
Over the past six months, he has observed a progressive deterioration in these symptoms, which were initially mild but have since worsened. He also has a history of constipation.
MRI :
The MRI reveals that the cervical spinal cord was thin as compared to rest of the cord from C4-C6, implicating compression.
Thickening of ligament at C2-C4 contributes to canal narrowing. there was also a disc bulge at C3 C6-C7.
These findings correlate with the patient’s symptoms of upper limb tingling, right limb numbness, reduced fine motor skills, imbalance, and difficulty in walking and climbing stairs
Operation :
A surgical procedure where C3-C7 posterior cervical instrumentation with decompression and fusion was performed on February 23, 2023, under general anesthesia by Spine Specialist Doctor in Pune Dr. Sangram Rajale. The surgery involved using implants for stabilizing the cervical spine from C3 to C7.
Decompression involves relieving pressure on nerves or the spinal cord, while fusion involves joining two or more vertebrae together to stabilize the spine.
Condition On Discharge :
The patient’s postoperative recovery was notably Slow, a complication termed C5 nerve root palsy was seen, resulting in weakened shoulder movement after surgery.
However, after 4 to 5 months, his gait began to improve, and a decrease in imbalance was observed.
He regained the ability to climb stairs both up and down. Overall, he expressed considerable satisfaction to Top Spine Specialist in Pune Dr. Sangram Rajale, and over a two-year period, there was no deterioration in his neurological condition.