An artificial cervical disc replacement is a surgical procedure in which a degenerated disc in the cervical region of the spinal column is replaced with an artificial device, thereby relieving the source of your pain.

This minimally invasive spine surgery is performed to treat cervical radiculopathy, a type of neck pain that radiates (spreads) into the upper back, shoulder(s), and down the arm(s). The lamina is the bony plate that protects the spinal cord. The foramina are openings in the joints of the spine that nerves travel through. During this procedure, Dr. Ahlgren accesses the compressed nerve through the lamina and removes bone spurs from the affected foramen to widen the opening and relieve nerve compression.

Cervical steroid injections are a treatment option for chronic pain in the neck and upper region of the back. They provide temporary relief for inflamed nerves that extend from the spinal cord into various areas of the body.

A cervical facet injection involves the injection of an anesthetic and corticosteroid into one or more of your neck joints that connect the vertebrae (bones of the spine) for the purpose of either temporarily easing pain or diagnosing which facet joint is causing pain.

This surgical procedure links damaged segments of the vertebral column in the neck together. It is used when cervical vertebrae and discs have become damaged due to an injury such as a herniated disc or chronic wear-and-tear such as degenerative disc disease.

ACDF is performed to remove a herniated or degenerative disc in the neck via an incision in the throat area. Once the disc is removed, a graft is inserted to fuse the bones above and below the disc together.

Dr. Ahlgren may recommend a cervical corpectomy for patients who have cervical stenosis at more than one vertebra, accompanied by spinal cord compression (myelopathy) caused by the growth of bone spurs. The complex procedure involves a discectomy (the removal of one or more vertebral bodies and discs), graft, and spinal fusion to relieve compression and stabilize the spine. In a hemi-corpectomy, only half of the vertebral body is removed.