Dr. Yanamadala specializes in the treatment of cervical myelopathy and radiculopathy through anterior, posterior and combined approaches that are tailored to the needs of the patient. He is experienced in the following procedures:
- Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF)
- Anterior Cervical Arthroplasty (Disk Replacement - ACR)
- Anterior Cervical Corpectomy
- Posterior Cervical Laminectomy and Fusion
- Posterior Cervical Laminoplasty
- Posterior Cervical Foraminotomy
Cervical Myelopathy - Three Level Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF)
This 73 year old gentleman presented with severe spinal cord compression. He had progressive difficulty walking and was losing function in his right arm. By the time he came to me, he was unable to feed himself and had lost most function in his right arm. The MRI revealed severe spinal cord compression at three levels. I offered him a three level ACDF procedure. After the two hour surgery, he gradually recovered function in his right arm over the following three months with physical therapy. Postoperative MRI reveals the spinal cord is completely decompressed.
Cervical Myelopathy - Posterior Cervical Laminoplasty
This 70 year old woman presented with progressive gait instability and loss of fine motor control in her hands. She had minimal neck pain or radicular pain. X-rays revealed good range of motion with minimal facet arthropathy on CT scan. In a case like this, where the patient has good alignment and cervical lordosis with minimal neck pain, I consider the primary surgical goal to be spinal cord decompression. The open door laminoplasty is an excellent option that allows for great spinal cord decompression with motion preservation in patients who have multilevel cervical stenosis with good alignment with minimal neck pain.