A Minimally Invasive Posterior Cervical Foraminotomy is a surgical procedure to relieve pain/weakness resulting from a pinched spinal nerve. The surgical procedure is designed to allow for more space for the spinal nerves to pass through reducing spinal nerve root compression.
Typically the patient is under general anesthesia. A small incision about an inch long is made over the treated area. The spine surgeon will use a tubular retractor to access the area, which contributes to keeping the operation minimally invasive. An endoscope is used along with special instruments to remove a small amount of bone to allow access to the nerve root. If the patient’s disc is causing compression of the nerve root, it is carefully lifted and the disc material is removed. This helps take pressure off the nerve root.
A posterior cervical foraminotomy can provide relief of nerve root compression causing pain in the patient with minimal bone removal. The wound is then carefully stitched closed and the patient can go home later that day.
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Some symptoms can become permanent if you don’t see the physician with in 24 hours. Find out when you can use “watchful waiting” and when you have an emergency symptom.
What do exercises have to do with relieving pain? Research in sports medicine and spine care exercises have shown to help relieve joint, ligament, muscle problems in the legs, arms, neck and back and increase range of motion.
Dr. Michael Rohan, Jr. is a board certified orthopedic surgeon who is fellowship-trained in spine surgery, the highest level of medical education in the U.S. For over 10 years, Dr. Michael Rohan, Jr. had a prominent spine center on the Florida Gulf Coast with offices in Panama City and Destin before expanding his practice with a new spine care location in Middleburg in Clay County, Florida, a suburb of Jacksonville in Northern Florida. The Jacksonville practice location is convenient to patients from other cities like St. Augustine, Gainesville, Palm Coast, Daytona Beach, and Duval County. Other patients travel from South Georgia cities like Brunswick, GA; Waycross, GA; and coastal locations like Jekyll Island and Savannah. If you’ve been told you need spine surgery, it can be beneficial to get a second opinion for spine surgery from a spine surgeon who specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery and artificial disc replacement.
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