A 39 year old gentleman comes in with two months of worsening left peri-scapular, neck, and shoulder pain. The pain does not radiate past his elbow. He has no right sided pain. He has tried several treatment options including: ant-inflammatories, oral steroids, TENs unit, and home stretching/therapy all with minimal relief. His symptoms are now interfering with his ability to perform tasks both at home and work.
Preoperative AP X-ray shows minimal degenerative changes.
Preoperative lateral X-ray shows minimal degenerative changes with loss of lordosis.
Axial T2 weighted MRI shows normal sized left sided foramen at C3-4 .
Sagittal T2 weighted MRI (line indicates location of C3-4 axial MRI).
Axial T2 weighted MRI shows left sided foraminal stenosis at C4-5 impinging on the C5 root.
Sagittal T2 weighted MRI (line indicates location of C4-5 axial MRI)
The patient was diagnosed with a left C5 radiculopathy due to foraminal stenosis. After discussing his options, the patient elected to proceed with a cervical disc replacement.
Postoperative AP X-ray showing disc replacement implant.
Postoperative lateral X-ray showing disc replacement implant.
By the patient’s 6-week post-operative visit he was completely pain-free and back to enjoying his life!