Anterior Or Posterior Cervical Discectomy

An anterior or posterior cervical discectomy are surgeries to remove damaged or injured discs from the spine in the neck. For an anterior procedure the surgeon will approach from the front of the neck (the throat), whereas in a posterior procedure the approach will be from the back of the neck. A posterior cervical discectomy is often performed when a herniated disc has fragmented into small pieces near the spinal nerve. Usually a discectomy is combined with a fusion of the two vertebrae that are separated by the disc. In some cases, this procedure is done without a fusion.