A member asked:

Neck fusion 5 m ago on c5 6 & 7.have pain below the fusion in different spots along my spine & shoulders . pt not helping , what's my next move, mri ?

5 doctors weighed in across 2 answers

Ask your Surgeon: You will need to get re-evaluated by your surgeon. He/she has to examine you to arrive at a diagnosis. A times just some bursitis can be causing your symptoms, other times there may be other issues at play. Or it can simply be normal healing. But re-imaging with xrays and MRI may be needed with continued symptoms (especially if things are not improving). If you smoke, stop immediately.

Answered 6/10/2014

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First, a CT scan to: Assess whether the fusion has healed & then a MRI to further assess decompression if one was done as well as to rule out any other potential sources of the pain such adjacent spine level problems. When a fusion is done for pure neck pain, the outcomes are less sucessful than if done for arm pain alone or in addition. If you are a smoker, all bets are off as they typically have poorer outcomes.

Answered 6/10/2014

5.1k views

Thank

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