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Had Surgery April 2014. got my yearly checkup and need help understanding the MRI results

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Chronic Pain
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Posted 4/1/2015 6:46 PM (GMT 0)
f anyone can tell me a little about what this means and if it looks like i need surgery again.been in alot of pain.had surgery in april of 2014.so this is my yearly check up thing since i was having pain in my neck .dont see the dr for a few weeks so thought i would ask if anyone knows anything on here.

COMPARISON:
Cervical spine MRI of 06/16/2014.

FINDINGS:
Axial and sagittal images were obtained emphasizing T1 and T2
weighting in the open MRI unit in Reno Pennsylvania. Comparison study
was done at the high field strength magnet at UPMC Northwest. 18 mL
of MultiHance was injected in a left antecubital vein for the
postcontrast images.

There is again noted to be anterior fixation of C4, C5 and C6 with
placement of disc spacers in the C4-C5 and C5-C6 discs. This appears
unchanged from the prior study. There is homogeneous marrow signal in
the vertebra although portions of the vertebral bodies are obscured
by the metallic fixation device. There does appear to be a vertebral
hemangioma in the C4 vertebral body. This was also evident on the
preoperative cervical spine MRI.

The C2-C3 disc remains normal and thickness and fluid signal. The
C3-C4 disc is now mildly bulging with small uncovertebral
osteophytes. No disc herniation or stenosis is seen. No stenosis is
seen at the fused levels of C4-C5 and C5-C6. The C6-C7 disc remains
normal in thickness and fluid signal.

After the injection of contrast a postcontrast sagittal and axial
sequence was obtained. There is significant motion artifact on the
axial sequence obscuring detail of the cervical spine and spinal
cord. On the postcontrast sagittal sequence no foci of abnormal
enhancement are seen.

Impression
IMPRESSION:

1. Anterior fixation device extending from C4 through C6 as described
above.
2. Development of mild disc bulging and small uncovertebral
osteophytes at the C3-C4 level with no stenoses seen.
Posted 4/1/2015 6:56 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Amy & welcome to the forum. Please understand that none of us here are drs. We only speak from our own personal experiences. Your best source of information will be your surgeon. Just as an amateur reading this I would be surprised after reading what I did on the MRI with contrast. If the dr said surgery on that again, I would find myself a board certified neurosurgeon & get a 2nd opinion before doing anything. Rarely does a bulging disc require surgery unless its impinging on something & the spurs are an arthritis condition that most do not like doing surgery on unless again, they are impinging or compressing on something.

A good website devoted to the spine is SpineUniverse.com.. It is a user friendly website so you may want to go there & do some reading.

Good luck with the dr & take care.
Posted 4/1/2015 7:23 PM (GMT 0)
Again, not a Dr, but I'm more than qualified to play one on TV :)

Reading the Impression: that sounds like a pretty good MRI. But-major pain can occur at anytime. See what your Dr has to say, and as with any surgery, get more than one opinion.
Posted 4/1/2015 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
thanks. yeah my neck has been so sore.at times i can't move.im glad the mri sounds good but wondering whats causing all the pain than ? i just wish it would go away because somedays i sit here and cry.thats how bad it gets
Posted 4/1/2015 8:04 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome Amy,
I'm sorry you are having pain a year after surgery. Did you have less pain, now it has started again OR did you ever stop having pain post op? What have you been doing this year? Working hard, keeping very busy, physical therapy, lifting, pushing through pain? Does ice on your neck give you any relief? Are you on meds for pain? Are you a smoker?

Lots of questions you can answer or not. Just trying to think of things that might be going on. I can't even play a dr on TV, but I did have cervical surgery just over a year ago, so again, I'm very sorry you are having pain.
Posted 4/2/2015 2:33 PM (GMT 0)
Unfortunately, the way they do the fusions these days with all the hardware we do see people have this pain. I personally think the hardware is a culprit for many. Think about it, that is something in there that was never there before & basically they hope they can trick the body into accepting it. I have seen a lot more pain free cervical fusions done the old way without all the metal.

If you are not on a good muscle relaxer you should be, also check with the dr about having a short course of an anti-inflam when it seems to be at its peak, or even short term steroid for inflammation. Last of all check your posture, one of our ladies was suffering & as it turns out her posture was not the best so she made some adjustments & it helped.

The osteophyte is a form of arthritis too. Let us know what your dr says & talk to him about the above. Also try some moist heat on your neck.
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