How sucessful is posterior cervical fusion + decompression?
You need to talk this over in detail with your doctor and orthopaedic specialist. Ask the specialist what his/her success rate is. There is a lot of information online and only you can decide whether your pain is so bad you would rather have spinal surgery than to keep taking medicines for severe pain. Do you think you would still need the latter for pain caused by your arthritis? I don’t think acupuncture does much to help – and it costs! From the net…US site… The main reason this form of surgery is performed is to try and reduce the risk of deterioration in spinal cord function. Expectations The aim of surgery is typically to stop progression of myelopathy and any gains are a bonus. Typically: 40% get better 40% stay the same 20% continue to deteriorate The second link is from a UK site. Another UK site favours circumferential decompression.
