3 things Surgeons won’t tell you about Neck surgery.
Never has something so serious been so widely done.
Hey all!
Jason here,
Your friendly, neighbourhood Pain expert and the owner of the Only place to go for Neck Pain.
This week I am going to talk about the research done on Cervical (Neck) fusion surgery. You will find out things the surgeons very rarely tell patients about Neck surgery and why it is not the miracle cure for Neck pain it is advertised as.
1. 87.4% of all Neck fusions patients had continued to use opioid pain killers’ long term after the surgery.
The Why: Neck operations cause a lot of damage to the bones of the neck, that cannot be reversed. This causes its own type of pain and problems that cause pain and need pain killers to deal with. Second opioid pain killers are very addictive and most who are on them depend on them both physically and emotionally to get through the day. They become the crutch they need. Even if that day their pain is manageable.
They often become too scared to stop them because if they do, the horrific pain will come back.
2. You are twice as likely to die from Neck fusion surgery when they do the surgery from the back than the front.
The WHY: Neck surgery is extremely dangerous. You have huge arteries throughout the neck that gives the brain blood, the spinal cord at the back and nerves that exit the spine. Any mistake, small movement can cut a blood vessel, damage the spinal cord and the person will die in minutes or paralyzed for life.
3. Of the 454 patients who had a neck fusion, 30% said they had trouble talking and swallowing 3-months after surgery. The more areas that were fused the greater number of people said they had trouble talking and swallowing. They said they felt more disabled because they weren’t able to speak or swallow.
The WHY: The damage done to the neck and throat during surgery is often unavoidable. They need to cut open and pull apart the neck and throat to get to the bones in the neck. Think of how much damage that will cause your throat.
A little cut here. Pulling too hard there will all lead to damage and disability.
BONUS FACT THAT SURGEON WON’T TELL YOU
The National Institute of clinical excellence in the UK said that “Paracetamol, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (AKA NSAIDS these include aspirin and ibuprofen), benzodiazepines or opioids (Pain killers like Stilpane, Tramadol and morphine) should not be offered for the management of Chronic Neck pain. This is because there was little or no evidence that they made any difference to people’s quality of life, pain, or psychological distress.
There you go. Even the experts from the UK that guide The Doctors and specialist have said that pain killers and anti-inflammatory do not work for old Neck pain.
Why are you still trying to see if it will work?
Try something different by booking an appointment with us. You know from the reviews and testimonials that we are the only place to go for Neck pain.
Jason
