What is a Cervical Disc Prolapse ?
A prolapsed disc occurs when the gel-like center of a spinal disc ruptures or herniates, through the outer cervical disc wall. The prolapsed disc or ruptured disc gel enters the spinal canal, wraps the spinal cord and spinal nerves. Neck or arm pain, numbness and tingling happen when the gel-like material compresses a spinal nerve.
What are the causes of Cervical Disc Prolapse?
Cervical Disc Prolapse is caused by excessive stress being placed on the disc due to improper lifting or injury. Aging also plays a role here, as with age the disc may get dry and become harder, and the fibrous outer wall of the disc gets weakened. The gel-like nucleus bulges through a tear in the disc wall and causes pain by compressing the nerve.
What are the signs, symptoms, and complications of Cervical Disc Prolapse?
Some common symptoms of Cervical Disc Prolapse are:
How is the diagnosis of Cervical Disc Prolapse done?
The doctor will check the medical history first and physical symptoms. After a detailed physical neurological examination the doctor can ask for a variety of tests to get a closer look. The patient suspected of Cervical Disc Prolapse will go through MRI scans, CT scans, X-rays, and bone scans.
What are the treatments of cervical disc available?
70 to 80% of disc prolapses settle by themselves and symptoms also disappear within 6-8 weeks. If there is significant spinal cord and nerve compression and pain, the doctor will try to control it with medications and physical therapy, and epidural steroid injections. But if the pain is severe and doesn’t go away in 8-12 weeks, spine surgery may be suggested. The success rate of this surgery is about 95-98% in terms of giving relief from pain.
What operations for Cervical Disc Prolapse are available?
The operations commonly done are
- Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF)
- Posterior Cervical Laminectomy
- Posterior Cervical Laminectomy with or without lateral mass fixation with screws and rods
Dr Nitin Jagdhane is one of the best Neurosurgeon and Spine specialists for doing Minimal Invasive/ Access spine surgery and Cervical Spine Surgery in Mumbai, India. Get in touch with Dr. Nitin Jagdhane, brain and spine specialist in Mumbai, for the best results for your Cervical Disc Prolapse Surgery.