Anterior Cervical Discectomy
Anterior cervical discectomy procedures are usually performed to remove pressure on nerves from disc herniations.
A disc herniates when the outer portion of the disc ruptures and some of the softer disc nucleus material squeezes out. The herniated disc pushes against the spinal cord or spinal nerves and tends to cause pain in the neck or arms. Removing the ruptured disc alleviates pressure on the nerves or spinal cord, which usually relieves the pain. A bone graft is usually inserted with instrumentation to keep the disc space at a normal height and fuse the vertebrae above and below the removed disc.