Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Neck Surgery?Various Surgery TechniquesPotential RisksPurpose of Neck SurgeryHow to PrepareWhat to ExpectRecoveryLong-Term Care
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is Neck Surgery?
Various Surgery Techniques
Potential Risks
Purpose of Neck Surgery
How to Prepare
What to Expect
Recovery
Long-Term Care
These conditions can cause pinching of the spinal cord itself, or of thespinal nerve rootsthat exit from the spinal cord. Symptoms of compression in the neck include neck pain, tingling, numbness, weakness, and radiating pain into the arms and hands. When symptoms do not improve after several weeks or months of conservative treatment, surgery might be recommended.
Verwell / Julie Bang
Neck surgery is a scheduled procedure that is usually recommended for severe or progressive forms of nerve orspinal cord compression. Your healthcare provider will likely want you to try conservative measures first, including medications, cortisone injections, and physical therapy.
If your symptoms do not get better and continue to significantly affect your quality of life and make everyday tasks challenging, surgery might be recommended to help decrease the pain, numbness, weakness, and tingling that you are experiencing.
To confirm the diagnosis that’s causing your neck pain and other symptoms, your provider will want you to have diagnostic imaging tests. These tests will let them see the anatomy of your cervical spine (in your neck) and help them pinpoint where the issue is located. These tests include:
A cervical spinal fusion might be needed for conditions such as:
Verywell / Theresa Chiechi
Neck surgery can help relieve chronic pain that has been unresponsive to other forms of treatment, but it comes with risks. In some cases, symptoms may stay the same or get worse after surgery. Associated risks with neck surgery include:
Talk to your healthcare provider about the possible risks of neck surgery to determine if it is an appropriate option for you given your age, current health status, and medical history.
Call your healthcare provider or 911 if you are experiencing a medical emergency.
Neck surgery is usually performed on adults after conservative measures have not helped with symptoms like pain, numbness, weakness, and tingling that interfere with everyday life. Conservative measures used to treat neck conditions include:
If no improvement is seen after several weeks of trying these methods and your symptoms continue to significantly impact your daily functioning, your healthcare provider may want to set up a surgical consult for you. This will give you a chance to discuss your options and prepare you for surgery.
The surgical team will provide you with more detailed instructions on what you will need to do in the days and hours before your surgery. It is recommended that you stay active, eat a healthy diet, and stop smoking before any operation to promote optimal healing and make your recovery as smooth as possible.
You may need to stop taking certain medications in the days leading up to the surgery to prevent excess bleeding or interactions with anesthesia during the operation. Tell your healthcare provider about all prescriptions, over-the-counter (OTC) medications, and supplements that you are taking. They need to know this information to ensure your safety before, during, and after your surgery.
Neck surgery takes place in the hospital. You should expect to stay overnight for one or two days after your surgery. You will not be allowed to drive to or from the hospital before and after your surgery. Make arrangements for a friend or family member to provide transportation for you.
Before Surgery
On the day of your surgery, arrive early to allow for extra time to find your way around the hospital, check in, and fill out all the necessary paperwork. Once all the documentation is completed, you will change into a hospital gown and be given a brief physical examination to clear you for surgery.
You will get an IV put into your arm or hand to give you fluids and medication. Then you will be wheeled into the operating room on a hospital bed. The surgical team will help you get onto the operating table in the operating room. Then, you will be given anesthesia to put you to sleep for the surgery.
During Surgery
For discectomies, laminectomies, and foraminotomies, tissue (including disc portions, vertebrae portions, or bone spurs) will be surgically removed to decrease the compression of the nerve roots or spinal cord and create more space.
Cervical spinal fusion surgery might be required if there are fractures and slippage of the vertebrae, significantly herniated discs, or if laminectomies to multiple vertebrae were done (as the cervical spine of the neck will become unstable).
When your neck surgery is done, you will be taken to a recovery room. You will stay there until you fully wake up from the anesthesia (usually after a few hours). Once you are stable, you will be transported to a hospital room until you are ready to go home (be discharged).
You will be encouraged to get up and walk within 24 hours after the surgery. After you go home, your healthcare provider will schedule a follow-up appointment.
For a discectomy, laminectomy, or foraminotomy, you can expect to stay in the hospital for one to two days before you’ll be allowed to go home. Spinal fusion surgeries are more involved and may require a longer stay—three to five days—to make sure you are stable before being sent home.
You may also be given a cervical collar that you will need to wear at all times to protect your neck as it heals. Your surgeon will give you specific instructions, including when you might be able to temporarily take the cervical collar off and when you can stop wearing it.
Verywell / Jiaqi Zhou
When you have been discharged from the hospital and are settled in at ho,e, you can generally go back to work within a few days to a few weeks after a discectomy, laminectomy, or foraminotomy procedure. You can expect to return to your normal activities about three months into your recovery.
For cervical spinal fusion surgery, it will take several weeks before you can go back to work safely and three to six months for you to fully recover.
A Word From Verywell
Neck surgery is often the last option for treating neck problems. Conservative measures should be tried first.
If you do not experience any improvement, talk to your provider about the risks and benefits of undergoing surgery. They will help decide if it is an appropriate option for you. After surgery, be prepared to take several months to fully recover.
4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons.Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: Surgical Treatment Options.Zhou X, Cai P, Li Y, et al.Posterior or Single-stage Combined Anterior and Posterior Approach Decompression for Treating Complex Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Coincident Multilevel Anterior and Posterior Compression.Clin Spine Surg.2017 Dec;30(10):E1343-E1351. doi:10.1097/BSD.0000000000000437.North American Spine Society.Appropriate Use Criteria: Cervical Fusion.American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Neck Pain.
4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons.Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: Surgical Treatment Options.Zhou X, Cai P, Li Y, et al.Posterior or Single-stage Combined Anterior and Posterior Approach Decompression for Treating Complex Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Coincident Multilevel Anterior and Posterior Compression.Clin Spine Surg.2017 Dec;30(10):E1343-E1351. doi:10.1097/BSD.0000000000000437.North American Spine Society.Appropriate Use Criteria: Cervical Fusion.American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Neck Pain.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons.Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: Surgical Treatment Options.Zhou X, Cai P, Li Y, et al.Posterior or Single-stage Combined Anterior and Posterior Approach Decompression for Treating Complex Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Coincident Multilevel Anterior and Posterior Compression.Clin Spine Surg.2017 Dec;30(10):E1343-E1351. doi:10.1097/BSD.0000000000000437.North American Spine Society.Appropriate Use Criteria: Cervical Fusion.American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Neck Pain.
American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons.Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: Surgical Treatment Options.
Zhou X, Cai P, Li Y, et al.Posterior or Single-stage Combined Anterior and Posterior Approach Decompression for Treating Complex Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Coincident Multilevel Anterior and Posterior Compression.Clin Spine Surg.2017 Dec;30(10):E1343-E1351. doi:10.1097/BSD.0000000000000437.
North American Spine Society.Appropriate Use Criteria: Cervical Fusion.
American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Neck Pain.
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