What is cervical canal stenosis?
Cervical canal stenosis is defined as the narrowing of the spinal canal or nerve root passages in the neck region. It is generally caused due to age-related changes such as structural changes in shape and size of spinal canal, bulging of discs, thickening of ligaments, destruction of tissues surrounding the bones and excessive bone growth.
Cervical canal stenosis commonly occurs in older people above the age of 50 years. They usually do not present with symptoms until there is nerve impingement. Involvement of nerves shows symptoms such as:
- Pain, stiffness, numbness, and weakness in the neck, arms legs, and shoulders.
- Difficulty in walking, coordination and balance.
- Loss of urinary bladder control (in cases of sever cervical canal stenosis).
Treatment of cervical canal stenosis
Mild cases of cervical stenosis can be managed with physical therapy and medications. If symptoms progress further, then surgery is indicated. Your doctor may advise a decompression surgery to relieve the pressure on your nerves.
Endoscopic cervical decompression surgery
It is a minimally invasive decompression surgery that involves removal of any structures causing nerve compression in the neck region.
Procedure
It is an outpatient procedure performed under local anaesthesia. Your doctor makes a small incision in the cervical canal region and uses specific tools to remove bone sections compressing the nerve roots and relieves pressure. The endoscope is incorporated with a camera which allows for clear visualization of the cervical spine and nerve structures.
Based on the causative factors different kinds of cervical decompression surgeries are performed. They include:
Foraminotomy: It involves enlargement and expansion of the openings (foramen) through which nerve routes pass.
Laminotomy: It involves creation of a hole in the bone covering the cervical spinal canal in order to increase the space for nerves to pass through, thereby relieving pressure.
Laminoplasty: It involves insertion of a spacer within the lamina to relieve nerve pressure.
Microdiscectomy: It is a minimally invasive surgery also known as micro decompression which removes small bone sections covering nerve roots to alleviate the pressure.
Cervical laminectomy: Small sections of lamina are removed to relieve nerve compression.
Recovery
Patients are usually discharged on the same day after observation for a short period of time. Complete recovery from endoscopic cervical decompression surgery may take about 1-2 weeks.
