I am wanting to know if surgery will help with my cervical and thoracic pain that shoots throughout my shoulders and down my shoulder blade. I have been getting facet block injections, and now radio frequency injections from C7-T1. I am a 32 year old woman with a history of Arnold Chiari Malformation with cerebral tonsils extending 12 mm below the foramen magnum. In Feb 2010, I had a suboccipital craniectomy with decompression and removal of posterior arch of C1 duraplasty with bovine pericardium graft and duraseal. This surgery helped a little bit but in February of 2012 AND August of 2012, I was rear ended by another driver at a rate of 50 mph causing my whole right side to go numb and pain severely increasing to a point of desperation. Thus, resulting in all of these injections. I am 3 weeks post procedure from my completed set of radio frequency injections and the pain is back. I rec'd 3 weeks of very little pain, which was great, but these RF injections are supposed to last much longer, sometimes 6 months to a year.
I am very frustrated that the pain is back and I know surgery is my only other option. My diagnosis since the accidents are as follows: Degenerative disc disease in cervical, thoracic, and lumbar. Lumbosacral Spondylosis, Sciatica, Lumbar Radiculopathy, Lumbar Disc Displacement, Cervical Radiculopathy, and Cervical spondylosis. I have a mild reversal of the lordotic curvature also.
What surgeries can help and what are the success rates for pain relief.
Thank you so much
Alicia
posted on
Thu, 30 May 2013

Fri, 31 May 2013
Answered on

Fri, 31 May 2013
Last reviewed on