Daddy Update

Jennifer asked me to write this post since I know a little more about it. First, my Dad made it through surgery and the surgeon said everything went very well. He went back for surgery around 12:30 and was out around 2:30. He finally got to his room around 5:15-5:30. He was very alert and happy that the first part was over with. He'll stay overnight and get discharged sometime tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers.

Many asked what exactly was wrong. The name of the condition he had is called cervical stenosis. Cervical stenosis is when your vertebrae degenerate over the years and develop bone spurs. Sometimes, the bone spurs can constrict the spinal cord that the vertabrae protects. This pressure causes many problems and can be different for different people. Daddy had begun to lose some range of motion in his arms, but the most serious problem began months ago when his legs began causing problems and he could not get his balance very well. The doctors located his problem in his neck, but Daddy put it off for as long as possible. The past couple of weeks, he went downhill very fast. Yesterday, he could only walk using a walker and that was very painful.

To alleviate the spinal pressure (and hopefully return everything to normal), the procedure is called a cervical corpectomy and strut graft. The surgeon goes in through the front of the neck and gets to the problematic vertebrae. He then inserts a small pin between two discs and takes an xray to make sure he's got the right vertebrae. Slight extension is placed on the head to separate the vertebrae and the doctor then carefully removes the problematic ones exposing the spinal cord. In Daddy's case, he had 3 trouble-makers (I want to say C2, C3, and C4 - Daddy had C2 and C3 fused together nearly 40 years ago). A cadavar bone is then placed in the vacated area (bone can be taken from your leg or your pelvic bone, but that is about as painful as the surgery itself). A steel plate is then placed over and attached to the cadavar bone as well as the vertebra above and below to secure the new bone and stabilize everything. Here's an illustration:

Nobody's been able to give me a very good indication on recovery time. I know he'll have to wear a neck brace for at least 4-6 weeks. At some point, he'll get fitted with a smaller brace, but I'm not sure if that is during the 4-6 weeks or afterwards.

The doctor did indicate that Daddy also had some other vertebrae constricting lower down his spine (called lumbar stenosis), but the most serious problem was in his neck. At some point in the future, he'll have to have this procedure done again in his back. However, that surgery is supposed to be much easier with a quicker recovery time.

Thanks again for everyone's thoughts and prayers!