Case Study: Degenerative Disc Conditions

Meet Bob – a Coopersburg resident and father of three. For most of his adult life, Bob suffered with chronic neck and back pain. As if his chronic pain wasn’t enough to alter his life, his condition was also associated with numbness and tingling in his left arm and hand, and sciatic pain down his left leg. After years of suffering, Bob looked to Dr. Jeffrey McConnell of OAA’s Spine Center of Excellence to perform surgery on his spine. “Finding Dr. McConnell was one of those life changing experiences I want anyone suffering from similar pain to hear about,” said Bob.

A previous surgical patient of Dr. Hawk, Bob was in his office for a checkup on his shoulder when Dr. Hawk suggested that he schedule an appointment with Dr. McConnell to address the pain in his neck and back. Knowing that he has complete trust in Dr. Hawk, Bob decided to listen to him and get Dr. McConnell’s opinion despite already having an operation scheduled with another surgeon.

Dr. McConnell looked at Bob’s MRI and EMG tests and saw him for an appointment several days later. After a thorough in-office exam, Dr. McConnell was not in agreement with Bob’s original diagnosis from another surgeon, and scheduled him for a CT scan to confirm his suspicions. “I was beginning to realize just how lucky I was in following through with Dr. Hawk’s suggestion,” Bob recalled. At another appointment to go over the findings of the CT scan, Dr. McConnell’s suspicions were confirmed, and he explained to Bob what the CT scan, MRI, and his symptoms were telling him about Bob’s condition. “I knew I found the right doctor,” said Bob, “not only did he tell me what was causing my pain, he showed me.”

Dr. McConnell has been a spine surgeon for 24 years, and has subspecialty interests in scoliosis surgery, total disc arthroplasty in the cervical spine, and minimally invasive spine surgery. When asked about Bob’s condition, Dr. McConnell noted, “Pain from a pinched nerve is one of the worst kinds of pain a patient can experience. Once the nerve compression is relieved with surgery, patients will typically experience complete pain relief and a corresponding significant improvement in quality of life. Bob had not just one nerve being pinched, but three, therefore his pain and disability were even greater.”

Dr. McConnell and Bob weighed the pros and cons of various surgical approaches. “Dr. McConnell explained to me how each option would benefit or detract from the outcome he was seeking. This is how medicine should be practiced! He put my mind at ease and I knew he was prepared to handle whatever was needed to alleviate my years of pain and suffering,” said Bob.

When asked about the surgery, Dr. McConnell explained, “Bob’s condition was secondary to multilevel degenerative disc disease and bone spurs which were compressing several nerves to his left arm. To treat his condition, we had to perform anterior discectomy and interbody fusions at C4-5, C5-6, and C6-7.” In other words, Dr. McConnell removed the collapsed discs in Bob’s neck, which then allowed him to remove the bone spurs that were compressing the nerves to Bob’s arm. To further restore the opening between the vertebra and to provide additional space for the nerve roots, spacers were placed between the vertebra to hold them apart. Then, to lock the spacers in place and to bind the vertebra together, small plates were inserted into the vertebra. Patients like Bob are a constant reminder as to why Dr. McConnell became a spine surgeon – “I enjoy solving problems and having the opportunity to improve patients’ lives through surgery,” Dr. McConnell affirmed.

Reflecting back to the day of surgery, Bob said, “It is hard to put into words the times in one’s life that are mystical; like when you are there for the birth of a child, or when other miraculous things happen, but I can tell you waking up after surgery and immediately noticing feeling in your hand without any numbness or burning is one of those spiritual moments you will never forget. I will be forever grateful to Dr. McConnell, his staff, and Dr. Hawk for his suggestion to see Dr. McConnell. They should be proud of what they do and how they do it – we are all better off because of them!”