CINCINNATI (WKRC) — A new surgical procedure is providing hope for those suffering from chronic neck pain. The anterior cervical discectomy fusion (ACDF) is a breakthrough operation that promises lasting relief, according to Dr. William McClellan, a spine surgeon at OrthoCincy in Kentucky.
“So essentially what we are doing is we are removing the disc in front of the neck to get the pressure off the spinal cord, to get the pressure off the arms,” said Dr. McClellan.
The procedure involves making a small incision at the front of the neck to access the problematic disc. “You can’t go from the back to get to the disc, cuz the spinal cord is in the way,” explained Dr. McClellan. Using X-ray guidance, the surgeon identifies the disc to be removed, then magnifies the area to gently extract the damaged disc and replace it with an artificial one. This artificial disc is secured in place with hardware, completing the outpatient procedure in less than an hour…