Cervical Disc Replacement

Your cervical spine is made up of the seven bones stacked on top of one another in your neck area. This is called the cervical vertebrae. Cervical disks are the cushions that lie between the cervical vertebrae. They act as shock absorbers to allow your neck to move freely.

Cervical disk replacement surgery involves removing a diseased cervical disk and replacing it with an artificial disk. It is done when the space between your vertebrae becomes too narrow and part of your vertebrae or your cervical disk is pressing on your spinal cord or spinal nerves. When these symptoms don’t respond to nonsurgical types of treatment, disk surgery may be recommended.

Loss of space between your cervical vertebrae from wear and tear is common. Cervical disks begin to collapse and bulge with age. It happens to most people by age 60. Doctors don’t know why some people have more symptoms from cervical disk degeneration than others.

Symptoms may include:

• Pain in the neck
• Stiffness in the neck
• Headache
• Pain that travels into your shoulders or into your arms
• Weakness of your arms, shoulders, legs, or hands
• Numbness in your arms