Up coming neck surgery and jumping Fusion of 5 and 6 and 6 and 7

[catfishhunter 1]

Im having c5 and 6 and 6 and 7 fused. Anyone here have this surgery? My doctor told me to quit jumping and I told him that wasn't an option. I aksed him why he said that and he said"because it is dangerous" I asked him what about the surgery made it more dangerous then it already was. He said "nothing it's just dangerous" I spent a lot of time talking to him and won't go into everything but he said when a football player has this surgery they tell them to wait at least a year before going back.

Im good with that time line but the whole thing has me more then a little nervous as it isnt a "minor" surgery. To help with that i'm trying to focus and plan on the positive side of things one of which will be when I can get back to jumping.

I would like to hear from anyone that has had neck surgery of this type and their experiances both good and bad with the surgery and recovery time and any limitations/improvements..

Thanks.

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[jackwallace 3]

Buddy of mine, broke his neck slipping on a rug helping his friend move a couch. Had neck fixed. First jump six months later he has a total. He was fine. Couple years later died in a jump plane crash. Maybe the doc knew him.

U only make 2 jumps: the first one for some weird reason and the last one that you lived through. The rest are just filler.
scr 316

[tkhayes 123]

My avatar....

C5-7 fusion with discectomy and hip bone used to fuse. plates front and rear. Done at least 2000 jumps since then.

yes there are risks. Also depends on your injury, repair and what you specific case entails.

Dr. Harry van Loveren at Tampa General Hospital and Chair at USF. Neurosurgeon, attending surgeon and skydiver. Maybe you can get ahold of him somehow for a second opinion.

[DSE 3]

Call Justin P. Hawes, in SLC. He's an amazing orthopedic, he did the rods in my L series, and has done many C's for "extreme" sport people (rodeo, motoX). He's in the Orthopedic Center next to the Intermountain hospital.
He's an athlete and understands the "I need to do this mindset." He might offer you a different/more positive opinion and maybe could offer your doctor some good info.
My L 1-5 are rodded.

[catfishhunter 1]

Thanks Spot. The doctor I've talkd to Dr. Gaufin he has some impressive references but I'm all for getting more opinions. It is my neck and everything I have read the first time is the best time to get it right. If they have to go back in it usually isn't good. The scary part isn't so much the herniated disc but the osteoarthritis and the bone spurs pinching the nerves. There is only so much they can do.

I truly appreciate the feedback. It has been a soberinng and trying 12 months.

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.

[JohnMitchell 14]

Quote

My doctor told me to quit jumping

I asked him why he said that and he said"because it is dangerous"

When I was 19 I was getting my routine annual checkup. My doctor said "John, you're in perfect health. Quit skydiving."

[shermanator 3]

My brother just had a similar surgery. His surgeon told him, and he is telling me it is true, the most painful thing he has ever gone through (worse than recovery from open heart surgery). Good luck!

I can't remember names, but I recall a jumper who had a previous spinal injury had a hard opening, which paralyzed him, he then ended up impailed in a tree. I never heard how his recovery went.

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[TheBachelor 4]

I had bone spurs that were pressing on my spinal cord and had a fusion of C3-4 and 5-6. 6 weeks after the surgery, the surgeon said I could do anything EXCEPT skydive. He wanted me to wait 6 months before jumping, which I did.

I've had no problems in the 5 years of jumping since then. I think your surgeon is like mine -- he doesn't know anything about skydiving, so he's going to be ultra-conservative.

There are battered women? I've been eating 'em plain all of these years...

[Muffie 0]

I'd also recommend being sure you understand the reasons behind the need for the fusions before you make any decisions. My dad had two spinal fusions about a year or two apart and was facing a third spinal surgery when he passed away. Turns out in his case that he was experiencing degeneration of the bones due to certain health issues he had. He obviously did not skydive, but doing so given his underlying issues would have likely resulted in paralysis at any stage after that first surgery. At the time, the doctors never really caught on to the underlying cause.

[catfishhunter 1]

Thanks Muffie. I am very aware of the need for the surgery. Herniated disc with born spurs because of oestoarthritis.This has been a on going issue for 12 plus years (oestoarthritis).The last year has gotten to the point that I have needed to start taking pain meds to deal with it and being in recovery taking meds is not something I wish to do at all let alone long term.

Luckily downers/pain meds where never my thing so it is easy for me to take a 1/4 of a percocet 1-2 days a day and not need/want to take more but I'm not naive enough to think that can last forever.

I really apppreciate all the shared experiances. Thank You.

MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT
Life is Short and we never know how long we are going to have. We must live life to the fullest EVERY DAY. Everything we do should have a greater purpose.