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  • Hummerh139
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    Post count: 5

    Neurosurgeon telling my friend he doesnt have enough compression on his spinal cord at c5-c7 where mris showing herniated discs on both levels indenting spinal cord at c5c6 and spinal canal is narrowed down to 7mm…this is all froma rear end accident…my friend continue to worsen rapidly after accident and has been wheelchair bound living with complete paralysis of both legs/ weakness of shoulders and grip strength/ bladder / bowels / autonomic dysreflexia / severe horrible full body pains / respiratory issues….after surgeon saying not enough compression then they sayhe has cervical myelopathy / progressive cervical myelopathy ( which what we know and been told myelopathy is damage to your spinal cord….my question is how can any doctor know how much or how little compression damage is gonna cause damage and not cause damage ? Orthopedic surgeon he first seen was 100% sure it was enough damage and said surgery wasnt gonna help anything paralysis has already occurred and bc it was from trauma it wouldn’t continue to worsen and the way my friend was it was how he would be rest of his life….please some opinions bc to us those neurosuegeon make no sense saying not enough compression when obviously there is and was but then say cervical myelopathy spinal cord damage….please help

    Donald Corenman, MD, DC
    Moderator
    Post count: 8656

    I am unclear as to how the cervical cord compression is causing paralysis. Normally cord compression can cause myelopathy which can cause weakness but generally not complete paralysis. Also, levels of paralysis have to be consistent with the level of injury. If your friend has weakness to the right shoulder but the compression is below the shoulder nerve supply, that would not make sense and could cause further confusion as to why the paralysis is present.Paralysis should also have MRI findings that would confirm significant cord damage (a white signal on T2 and STIR images)

    Cord compression should also have other signs on examination that should correlate with the level of injury (long tract signs). I hopefully would think that these factors are leading the decision making of that neurosurgeon.

    Dr. Corenman

    PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
     
    Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.
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