What are the advantages of neurosurgery in performing spine surgery for cervical spine diseases?

  Cervical degeneration and trauma to the cervical spine often lead to cervical disc herniation, which in severe cases often compresses the cervical medulla, nerve roots, and vertebral artery, resulting in shoulder and neck pain, numbness in the hands and feet, decreased muscle strength in the limbs, and even paralysis in severe cases. Surgery is an effective treatment for this type of disease.  Since the clinical symptoms of spinal cord diseases with surgical indications ultimately boil down to the compression of the spinal cord and nerve roots, and neurosurgery traditionally has a unique advantage in spinal cord and nerve root decompression techniques, especially the application of neurosurgical micro-minimally invasive techniques, which allows adequate decompression of the spinal cord and intervertebral foraminal nerve roots, safe surgery, and a high rate of improvement of patients’ symptoms after surgery, neurosurgery has been used in Europe, America and Taiwan in In Europe, the United States and Taiwan, neurosurgery is in the mainstream in the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. In Taiwan’s neurosurgery centers, spinal cord surgery generally accounts for 60%-90% of the total number of surgeries performed in the department. In China, neurosurgical colleagues are also fully aware of the advantages of microscopic spinal surgery and the irreplaceable benefits, especially for this group of patients, and the tremendous social benefits, and this type of surgery has been performed in the larger neurosurgical medical centers in China with remarkable success.  Traditionally, the key to this type of surgery is decompression of the spinal cord and nerve roots, followed by intervertebral fusion and titanium plate fixation to fuse the corresponding vertebrae and restore stability to the spine. In years of medical practice, it has been found that after fusion of the vertebral body, the degeneration of the adjacent segment will be accelerated, with a degeneration rate of 13.9% per year, and many patients will require surgery again after years of degeneration of the adjacent segment. The greatest advantage of the artificial disc is that it not only restores the stability of the spine, but also ensures the mobility of the operated segment and reduces the degeneration of the adjacent segment. The use of neurosurgical microdecompression techniques and artificial discs ensures maximum improvement in the clinical symptoms of patients. However, artificial discs are expensive and have strict indications and contraindications, so traditional discectomy fusion and artificial disc replacement are complementary surgical approaches.  Many patients with cervical spondylosis are reluctant to undergo surgery due to fear of the risks of surgery, especially the possible damage to the spinal cord, and some patients even end up paralyzed. The development of micro-neurosurgery in spine surgery will undoubtedly dispel the concerns of many patients and will bring the best results to them.