Board Certified Neurosurgeon Brain & Spine Care 860-889-9035
Mark Hornyak, MDBoard Certified Neurosurgeon
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Degenerative / Spine Case

Cervical Arthroplasty

39 year-old woman presents with neck and shoulder pain radiating into her arms

Description

39 year-old woman presents with neck and shoulder pain radiating into her arms
Painful tingling in her hands
Difficulty with fine motor tasks, reports “dropping things”
Frequently feels off balance when wlaking
Exam reveals brisk deep-tendon reflexes and weakness of her hands

Gallery

Images

Figure 1Preoperative cervical spine x-rays with extension (bending back, left) and flexion (bending forward, right) views of the cervical spine. Note the relatively focal degenerative changes at C5/6 (arrows) with lack of movement.
Figure 2Preoperative MRI of the c-spine showing C5/6 disc degeneration and displacement with spinal cord compression.
Figure 3Intraoperative photograph taken through the surgical microscope demonstrating the artificial disc in place between the C5 (left) and C6 (right) vertebral bodies.
Figure 4Diagram illustrating the placement of the Mobi -C arthroplasty device.
Figure 5Postoperative c-spine x-rays. Compare with Figure 1. Artificial disc is now in place between C5 and C6 and there is now motion in flexion and extension (bending the neck forward and back).
Figure 6Diagram illustrating the intended motion of the artificial disc with extension and extension (top) and lateral bending (bottom).

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