How Long Do Swallowing and Voice Problems Last After C-Spine Surgery ACDF?

I often see patients for swallowing and/or voice difficulties after cervical spine surgery (ACDF) . In the vast majority of cases, reassurance that such "side effects" are not uncommon is the only thing I need to provide after a complete exam. After all, both the voice box and swallowing tube are manipulated and pushed over to one side in order to perform cervical spine surgery from an anterior approach. Check out the video below that illustrates how this happens. Beyond reas…

12/29/2013 1

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Brain Fluid Leakage Out the Nose (CSF Leak)

Image by Patrick Lynch from Wikipedia Fox News published a story today (12/3/12), describing one patient's runny nose that was not due to allergies, but in fact due to brain fluid leaking through a crack in the roof of her nose. Also known as  CSF leak  (cerebrospinal fluid leakage), correction of this problem can be performed endoscopically through the nose without any incisions on the face. An interesting trivia related to CSF leaks is that actor George Clooney suffered one after a…

12/03/2012 0

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Runny Nose Due to Spinal Fluid Leakage and Not Allergies!

Image from Wikipedia The Washington Post published a story on January 19, 2010 entitled " Doctors changed diagnosis after woman said allergies weren't causing runny nose ." In this story, the patient's runny nose from only one side was actually due to a CSF leak (cerebrospinal fluid leakage) and puts her at major risk for meningitis. Unfortunately for this particular patient, the hole through which this fluid was coming out from also had some brain tissue. She required ma…

1/19/2010 2

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