Surgical Options

If you have a Cervical Disc Bulge which is placing pressure on the nerve root as it exits the foramen (hole) in the neck before passing down the arm, then the Surgeon will remove the bulging portion of the disc. Most commonly, the Surgeon will approach the disc sitting between the vertebral bones of the neck from the front (anterior), right hand side of your neck. Most of the disc is removed (discectomy). An implant is then inserted where the disc was, to ‘jack open’ the disc space and the hole (foramen) where the nerve comes out of the spinal canal. This decompresses the nerve by restoring the height of the foramen and removing the bulging disc that was causing pressure and irritation to the nerve. Your own bone or artificial bone is packed into the implant to encourage the vertebral bones to fuse together through and around the implant. The implant is secured in place by screws, a plate or pins.

The following are links to the British Association of Spine Surgeons Website. They outline details of different Spinal Surgery Procedures along with outcomes, risks and complications of that surgery. They also discuss the approximate recovery times needed after each operation.

New Hall Hospital offers fast access surgery for both patients wanting to Self Pay and those who have Private Medical Insurance. We also see a large number of NHS patients.

• • British Association of Spine Surgery Cervical Disc Protrusion Surgical Options can be found here

If you have single Cervical Disc Prolapse in the neck without significant neck pain, then sometimes the spinal specialist will offer you a total disc replacement. Instead of the segment being fused via an implant and bone graft like with an Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion a prosthetic disc will be implanted to preserve some of the motion at the spinal segment. This surgery requires specific criteria to be met which your specialist can discuss in more detail. If your specialist and you feel that having discussed the risks and complications of an operation, you would like to proceed they will guide you through the process to consent to the surgery and to be evaluated by our Pre-Operative Assessment Team (POA).

The following are links to the British Association of Spine Surgeons Website. They outline details of different Spinal Surgery Procedures along with outcomes, risks and complications of that surgery. They also discuss the approximate recovery times needed after each operation.

New Hall Hospital offers fast access surgery for both patients wanting to Self Pay and those who have Private Medical Insurance. We also see a large number of NHS patients.

• • British Association of Spine Surgery Cervical Disc Protrusion Surgical Options can be found here

This surgical technique involves removal or the vertebral bone from the front, to give a larger area of decompression along the spinal canal. The vertebral body is replaced by a long cage which is packed with your bone or artificial bone and then plated in place. It is sometimes used for Cervical Myelopathy.

If your specialist and you feel that having discussed the risks and complications of an operation, you would like to proceed they will guide you through the process to consent to the surgery and to be evaluated by our Pre-Operative Assessment Team (POA).

The following are links to the British Association of Spine Surgeons Website. They outline details of different Spinal Surgery Procedures along with outcomes, risks and complications of that surgery. They also discuss the approximate recovery times needed after each operation.

New Hall Hospital offers fast access surgery for both patients wanting to Self Pay and those who have Private Medical Insurance. We also see a large number of NHS patients.

• • British Association of Spine Surgery Cervical Stenosis and Myelopathy-Surgical Options can be found here

There are a number of surgical techniques that can be performed from the back of the neck. If a larger area needs to be decompressed, for example with Cervical Myelopathy or there is significant calcification of the ligament at the front of the canal contributing to cord compression then surgery may be performed from the back of the neck. This is called a posterior decompression. There are various ways that the Surgeon can access the spinal canal. These are explained in the link below to the British Association of Spine Surgeons patient information leaflet. Sometimes the Surgeon will need to fuse the spine from the back with this surgical approach, using screws and rods.

If your specialist and you feel that having discussed the risks and complications of an operation, you would like to proceed they will guide you through the process to consent to the surgery and to be evaluated by our Pre-Operative Assessment Team (POA).

The following is a link to the British Association of Spine Surgeons Website. It outlines details of different Spinal Surgery Procedures along with outcomes, risks and complications of that surgery. It also discusses the approximate recovery times needed after each operation. New Hall Hospital offers fast access surgery for both patients wanting to Self Pay and those who have Private Medical Insurance. We also see a large number of NHS patients.

• • British Association of Spine Surgery Cervical Stenosis and Myelopathy-Surgical Options can be found here

New Hall has a large and busy Spinal Service. You may be assessed by any member of the team on the NHS, or your chosen Consultant Privately. Currently we have six Spinal Orthopaedic Surgeons who operate on the cervical spine (neck):

• • Mr David Chapple
• • Mr Paul Davies
• • Mr Harshad Dabke
• • Mr John Fowler
• • Mr Nick Evans
• • Mr Mike Hutton

The team also includes an Advanced Physiotherapy Practiitioner:

• • Elaine Robinson

We have three Spinal Nurse Specialists:

• • Mr Joylon Lockhart
• • Helen Aldridge
• • Elaine Gaffney

Our Consultant Anaesthetist who also does spinal injections for the team. Our Pre-Operative Assessment Team evaluate and give advice regarding any other medical conditions you have and your medical fitness for surgery.

The team are supported by our Spinal Services Manager and Administration Team. The team also work closely with the Radiologists and Radiographers in the hospital.

At Ramsay New Hall all of our Spinal Orthopaedic Surgeons are signed up to use the national British Spine Registry (BSR). If you attend New Hall to see a member of the spinal specialist team, you will be asked to complete some BSR forms. The link below explains what the BSR is and why we are asking you to participate. Please make sure you give us an e-mail address as any changes you record after treatment are collected via an e-mail questionnaire. Do not worry, you will not be contacted for any other purpose than BSR, unless you have consented for us to do so.

What is the British Spine Registry (BSR)?

It aims to collect information about spinal surgery across the UK. This will help us to find out which spinal operations are the most effective and in which patients they work best. This should improve patient care in the future.

https://www.britishspineregistry.com