$650K Result: Animated C4-7 Anterior Cervical Discectomy with Fusion
Вставка
- Опубліковано 29 січ 2019
- A 58-year-old man broke his neck after his car was struck by another vehicle and his head slammed into the side window. After months of wearing a cervical collar and undergoing physical therapy, his doctor recommended that he needed to undergo a C4-7 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, animated below.
However, the insurance company refused to cover the surgery, alleging that the Plaintiff’s condition was not caused by the collision. Instead, the company argued that his condition was the result of arthritis that existed in the patient’s cervical spine before the collision. The highest amount the insurance company was willing to pay was $200K for the Plaintiff’s incomplete recovery.
Heading into arbitration, Michael Sorich, Esq., and Patrick Richel, Esq., needed to prove that their client’s condition was the direct result of the collision, which fractured his C6 vertebrae and severely worsened his preexisting arthritis to the point that a discectomy and fusion were vital to his recovery. We delivered an animation that would achieve the following visual objectives:
- Highlight the Plaintiff’s severely damaged spine using color to emphasize the disc bulges and flattening of the spinal cord.
- Show how these herniated discs compressed nerves along the spinal cord, causing severe pain and suffering for the Plaintiff beyond mere arthritis.
- Demonstrate the recommended C4-7 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.
- Reinforce the doctor’s testimony that his patient needed this surgery as a direct result of the whiplash that occurred during the collision.
The Plaintiff’s doctor used the animation in arbitration, which helped him show the disc bulges, spinal compression, and surgeries - rather than having to explain these points through complex medical terminology. The presentation ultimately helped the three-person arbitration panel understand why this injury was much more serious than the Defense was alleging. They awarded the Plaintiff a $650K result.
View the entire case study: bit.ly/2S09fUC - Фільми й анімація
I just had this procedure. Same exact problem as this except the stenosis was the bottom instead of top. Three herniated discs. Outcome good so far. Both hands are not numb anymore except a little on left pointer finger but hopefully the healing will continue. I got my strength back on right side of body. This procedure saved me from being paralyzed. I will never be able to exercise the way I use to but can make modifications. Cant hit the ground hard or go jet skiing in choppy waters. But I still have lots of extra curricular activity freedom and a life.
It has been almost 4 years since ive had this surgery. I was back to work within 3 months of the surgery, which is rare from what I understand. But I’m pretty determined. Has helped me tremendously. I still have some of the prior symptoms but only to a slight degree as before the surgery. Extremely happy with the results. Note: If you are an active person, you really have to watch any strain or sudden fast or hard movements. Or the hardware will let you know you are pushing your limits 😉
Impresionante y que síntomas tenias antes?
I had the operation 9 days ago, and now I feel a headache and pain in my neck and all over my body. After 3 months, I return to work, and I am afraid to return to work because I have a hard job as a cleaner in a hotel.
@@linda-dv4scme tienen que operar c4 c5 c6 con opresión médula tengo entumecimiento en las 2 manos y problemas en la marcha a alguien le ha pasado esto?
@@linda-dv4sc How are you mending so far, just curious.
Which hospital? Your age please?
I just had mine done from VA
I need my whole back done with this new tech so I stay Operating!! I volunteer!!
I failed to watch the rest
Good anime
I thought it was biomechanics with nanotechnology to enhance. Facepalm 🤦
Hello family. I had C3-C7 posterior fusion with instuments and C3-C4 anterior fusion with instruments. The pain is always there and no one understands what its like unless they go through it as well.
If I brought my own hardware from Lowes, could we get that down to a few thousand? 🤣🤣🤣
i just had the surgery done on the 23rd. Immediately felt no more pain or tingling in the fingers
I am currently recovering from this surgery I had on Oct 2023. As I write this it's Nov 5. I'm 65 years old. Mine was mostly the same as shown in the video except the nerves that were compressed were only on my left side. I took the bandage off the scar and it seems to be healing nicely. I feel some sensitivity in neck area and swallowing is slowly getting easier. I still take some pain meds at night mainly so I can sleep. I think I'm progressing as scheduled. At least I sure hope so.
Good to hear you are recovering. I had mine in October 18th this year. The vocal soreness/hoarseness is normal. What was most painful for me was the top of my chest. I found out from surgeon that was where the intubation tube ended and probably moved around from the breathing. I should go back to work in a few weeks. I work at home so my job isn't physical. Wish you a speedy recovery.
DBKfrogKaty... Hi... I shared this with some others on this string so this might be a duplicate effort but I wanted to reach out to say hi ... I am a 69, yr old osteopenic female with no thyroid (meaning I need help with Calcium absorption for bone fusion) and now about 80 days out from my 4 level ACDF done at Mayo Clinic Jan 26, 2024.. Only 2.7% of ACDF surgeries are 4 level and I hit the lottery. Wrong lottery. i have very limited movement of my neck because only C1 and c2 are operational. I have trouble swallowing anything like pills or solid foods like meat. I have a theory. If you look at the xray in my video which shows the metal plate screwed to the column of vertebra with 10 screws, at the top of the metal plate the thickness of the plate forms a small shelf and then your tissue , muscles, etc are over that. They might have thickened due to surgery and recovery.. i think in my case this little shelf forms a constriction that catches stuff. Try bananas (if you like them). They are slippery and help the pills go down. My neck aches in the back esp in the evening after carrying the wt of my head all day. I was in stiff collar for 2 months until March 20. My scar is tight in the morning when I wake up but that goes away if you do some yawning stretches. I guess it contracts during their night because your neck is curled somewhat. I wear my brace in the car and suggest everyone do that until fusion is pronounced "done" (see video for timelines) in case of whiplash or sudden deceleration by the driver. Being a former Med Tech, I searched everything in the 3 months I had waiting to get in for surgery. Fusion was the only option to anyone over 65 (no artificial discs would be offered). Anyway, I did a video of some of my findings to share with others because the fusion issue is my next milestone and the "what if" is always in the back of my mind. Many people do videos for hits to make $ and that is fine... I did it because I know what it's like to lose sleep trying to decide on what to do next. Clips in my video talk about fusion rates, milestones, etc. Hang in there and don't bend your neck as much as possible so the fusion can take hold (I guess). Best wishes. Hilda. ua-cam.com/video/g-gWWXgaikY/v-deo.html
Those little cubes would make a mess if you got into a car crash 😬
I'm 69.5 years old and I had this procedure done November 6, 23. My main problem was my vertebrae collapsed and was leaning to the left and nearly pressing my spinal cord. My Dr has told me I'm recovering well, for the most part I think I am, but some days are harder with continued stiffness. My problem now is I'm still having problems swallowing even though I'm nearly 4 months post-surgery. If I swallow just saliva, it's as though I'm swallowing a marble. Food gets stuck going down and I have to make sure I have plenty of water with my meal to push it on down. I had a barium swallow test just yesterday and early test results showed no conclusive problem. I'm hoping that sooner or later this problem will remedy itself. or I'll end up with some other surgical procedure. I've been cleared to walk as much and as far as I want to. I'm up to 3 miles but still not cleared for bicycle yet. I was also cleared for yard work which I'm now having to do what I should have done in the past 4 months. Mornings I wake up with stiff muscles in the back of my neck, but they loosen up within 30 to 60 minutes of moving around. Knowing what I know now, I'd still have the surgery. It helped me quite a bit.
Thomas... I am a 69, yr old osteopenic female with no thyroid and now about 80 days out from my 4 level ACDF. Only 2.7% of ACDF surgerys are 4 level and I hit the lottery. Wrong lottery. I have trouble swallowing anything like pills or solid foods like meat. I have a theory. If you look at the xray in my video which shows the metal plate screwed to the column of vertebra with 10 screws, at the top of the metal plate the thickness of the plate forms a small shelf and then your tissue , muscles, etc are over that. They might have thickened due to surgery and recovery.. i think in my case this little shelf forms a constriction that catches stuff. Try bananas (if you like them). They are slippery and help the pills go down. My neck aches in the back esp in the evening after carrying the wt of my head all day. I was in stiff collar for 2 months until March 20. I wear it in the car and suggest everyone do that until fusion is pronounced "done" (see video for timelines). Being a former Med Tech, I searched everything in the 3 months I had waiting to get in for surgery. Fusion was the only option to anyone over 65 (no artificial discs would be offered). Anyway, I did a video of some of my findings to share with others because the fusion issue is my next milestone and the "what if" is always in the back of my mind. Many people do videos for hits to make $ and that is fine... I did it because I know what it's like to lose sleep trying to decide on what to do next. Clips in my video talk about fusion rates, milestones, etc. Hang in there and don't bend your neck as much as possible so the fusion can take hold (I guess). Best wishes. Hilda. ua-cam.com/video/g-gWWXgaikY/v-deo.html
@@antiquesacademy8986 Hi Hilda. Thanks for your response to my post. I have watched several videos similar to yours just to see what was done to me. With all due respect, I was amazed at the size of your scar. Mine is horizontal and was placed in a crease in my neck. It's barely 2 inches long and you really have to look for it to see it. I'm amazed that my procedure was done through such a small opening. I guess just a difference in doctor's procedures. As for the stiff collar, I had one to wear as long as I was moving about or riding in a car which I was only allowed to do for doctor's visits or in case of an emergency. I wore it for nearly 6 weeks. I wore a soft collar at night during sleeping and had to be in an inclined position. Thankfully we have an adjustable bed. I suffered from stiff neck as you described for several weeks. I especially had stiff neck in the mornings after I was allowed to stop sleeping with the soft collar. My remedy for that was in addition to my regular pillow I added a smaller pillow such as a travel pillow and it's really soft which molds to the back of my head and neck. Nearly all of my neck stiffness has gone away with just a small bit remaining depending on how active I get during the day. My surgeon has told me I can do pretty much what I want. I'm back in the gym, riding my bicycle and doing yard work.
I have been scheduled by the ENT that assisted with my surgery for an esophageal dilation in June since I'm still having problems with swallowing. Like you, I have a hard time getting red meat down. I can get ground beef like tacos down fairly easy. Chicken breast is cooked in small pieces and then shredded. Totally stopped eating chips of any kind, which I think is a good thing. But for the most part, for me, I'm much better than I was pre surgery.
I wish and hope for you a good recovery. Like most anything else, it just takes time.
Thomas
@@ThomasSmith-us3dv
Thomas.. I am going on 3 months. Still swallowing issues. When I look at the hardware in my neck, I have to wonder how thick that front metal plate is and how big a shelf it makes at the top. That is about the level that my food seems to get stuck. I wonder if that plate would be more ergonomic if they had made the end more beveled or angled in . If you look at my pics, my vertebra height and the limits of the length of the 5 level bar puts the screws close to the edge of the bone/vertebra on the ends creating a sliver of bone. My concern is that if I bend forward against the curve I could split the vertebra bone with the tension. My scar is large due to the fact that I had to have 4 disks removed and had scar tissue from prior thyroid that he was trying to not disturb. The Dr on the video says it can take two years to fuse and there is a 10% per level fusion failure rate so I'm at 40% LOL so I try to keep my neck from bending so the small bone cells can link up. Most of my aches are in the back of my neck. I wear my collar when in a car and I no longer drive because of that until I am fused. Wishing you a speedy recovery and try to go slow until they tell you that you are fused. Regards Hilda
Can you bend your neck after the healing stage?
That plate have any flexibility?
I'm seven weeks after my surgery this neck brace is driving me crazy.
Fellow ACDF traveler... I am a 69, yr old osteopenic female with no thyroid and now about 80 days out from my 4 level ACDF done at Mayo Clinic Jan 26, 2024.. Only 2.7% of ACDF surgeries are 4 level and I hit the lottery. Wrong lottery. I have trouble swallowing anything like pills or solid foods like meat. I have a theory. If you look at the xray in my video which shows the metal plate screwed to the column of vertebra with 10 screws, at the top of the metal plate the thickness of the plate forms a small shelf and then your tissue , muscles, etc are over that. They might have thickened due to surgery and recovery.. i think in my case this little shelf forms a constriction that catches stuff. Try bananas (if you like them). They are slippery and help the pills go down. My neck aches in the back esp in the evening after carrying the wt of my head all day. I was in stiff collar for 2 months until March 20. My scar is tight in the morning when I wake up but that goes away if you do some yawning stretches. I guess it contracts during their night because your neck is curled somewhat. I wear my brace in the car and suggest everyone do that until fusion is pronounced "done" (see video for timelines) in case of whiplash or sudden deceleration by the driver. Being a former Med Tech, I searched everything in the 3 months I had waiting to get in for surgery. Fusion was the only option to anyone over 65 (no artificial discs would be offered). Anyway, I did a video of some of my findings to share with others because the fusion issue is my next milestone and the "what if" is always in the back of my mind. Many people do videos for hits to make $ and that is fine... I did it because I know what it's like to lose sleep trying to decide on what to do next. Clips in my video talk about fusion rates, milestones, etc. Hang in there and don't bend your neck as much as possible so the fusion can take hold (I guess). Best wishes. Hilda. ua-cam.com/video/g-gWWXgaikY/v-deo.html
It’s too costly. Same procedure done by us at around 2- 2.5 lakh rupees I.e. around 3k dollars. At high end hospital around 6.5k dollars. 100 times costlier.
$650k?? It’s free in Canada 🇨🇦 😊
Ya how long is the wait for that?
A lot faster than scraping together $650k
The $650K is not how much the surgery cost, it is how much the plaintiff received in court when they sued for damages. Hope that helps!
delusional comment
Free lunch ? Not true. Pay with taxes
I just had this exact surgery on January 5th 2024. I'm just wondering what the real recovery time is? Wearing a hard brace for months is tough
Wouldnt that be a question to ask the doc
Two months after you are done wearing the brace try putting it back on! It's very weird but it will feel like an old friend!
Joseph... I am a 69, yr old osteopenic female with no thyroid and now about 80 days out from my 4 level ACDF done at Mayo Clinic Jan 26, 2024.. Only 2.7% of ACDF surgeries are 4 level and I hit the lottery. Wrong lottery. I have trouble swallowing anything like pills or solid foods like meat. I have a theory. If you look at the xray in my video which shows the metal plate screwed to the column of vertebra with 10 screws, at the top of the metal plate the thickness of the plate forms a small shelf and then your tissue , muscles, etc are over that. They might have thickened due to surgery and recovery.. i think in my case this little shelf forms a constriction that catches stuff. Try bananas (if you like them). They are slippery and help the pills go down. My neck aches in the back esp in the evening after carrying the wt of my head all day. I was in stiff collar for 2 months until March 20. My scar is tight in the morning when I wake up but that goes away if you do some yawning stretches. I guess it contracts during their night because your neck is curled somewhat. I wear my brace in the car and suggest everyone do that until fusion is pronounced "done" (see video for timelines) in case of whiplash or sudden deceleration by the driver. Being a former Med Tech, I searched everything in the 3 months I had waiting to get in for surgery. Fusion was the only option to anyone over 65 (no artificial discs would be offered). Anyway, I did a video of some of my findings to share with others because the fusion issue is my next milestone and the "what if" is always in the back of my mind. Many people do videos for hits to make $ and that is fine... I did it because I know what it's like to lose sleep trying to decide on what to do next. Clips in my video talk about fusion rates, milestones, etc. Hang in there and don't bend your neck as much as possible so the fusion can take hold (I guess). Best wishes. Hilda. ua-cam.com/video/g-gWWXgaikY/v-deo.html
I hear different opinions. There’s people that do very well with this. And are up and about in a couple days. And it’s no big deal.
Then there’s people saying it’s a nightmare. But they were prob in terrible condition beforehand
Which hospital is this located in whate s the name of tha docter and what's tha contact number available
كم هو دقيق صنع الله !
Hi, I’ve just had C5 -C7 done on March 4th. I never received a collar. Am I supposed to have one on? Good luck you all.
Did you have finger hand arm pain burning electric shocks arm fatigue and neck pain ..what was your problem and has the surgery helped ?
I had c5-c7 and had no collar. My neurosurgeon felt collars made you lose muscle and then you had to have pt. To build back up. He felt hard collar was not nessasary. I did fine without it.
Sandy: I shared this with some others on this string so this might be a duplicate effort but I wanted to reach out to say hi ... I am a 69, yr old osteopenic female with no thyroid (meaning I need help with Calcium absorption for bone fusion) and now about 80 days out from my 4 level ACDF done at Mayo Clinic Jan 26, 2024.. Only 2.7% of ACDF surgeries are 4 level and I hit the lottery. Wrong lottery. I have trouble swallowing anything like pills or solid foods like meat. I have a theory. If you look at the xray in my video which shows the metal plate screwed to the column of vertebra with 10 screws, at the top of the metal plate the thickness of the plate forms a small shelf and then your tissue , muscles, etc are over that. They might have thickened due to surgery and recovery.. i think in my case this little shelf forms a constriction that catches stuff. Try bananas (if you like them). They are slippery and help the pills go down. My neck aches in the back esp in the evening after carrying the wt of my head all day. I was in stiff collar for 2 months until March 20. My scar is tight in the morning when I wake up but that goes away if you do some yawning stretches. I guess it contracts during their night because your neck is curled somewhat. I wear my brace in the car and suggest everyone do that until fusion is pronounced "done" (see video for timelines) in case of whiplash or sudden deceleration by the driver. Being a former Med Tech, I searched everything in the 3 months I had waiting to get in for surgery. Fusion was the only option to anyone over 65 (no artificial discs would be offered). Anyway, I did a video of some of my findings to share with others because the fusion issue is my next milestone and the "what if" is always in the back of my mind. Many people do videos for hits to make $ and that is fine... I did it because I know what it's like to lose sleep trying to decide on what to do next. Clips in my video talk about fusion rates, milestones, etc. Hang in there and don't bend your neck as much as possible so the fusion can take hold (I guess). Best wishes. Hilda. ua-cam.com/video/g-gWWXgaikY/v-deo.html
No. Simple fusion with plate doesn't require it. Better to strengthen neck muscles.