Dr Adriaan Liebenberg My Spine Cervical | Page 31

My Spine - Cervical The potential effects of this could be partial or complete dysfunction of these nerves and can include numbness, pain and weakness of the muscles or com- plete paralysis of one or more muscle groups. Infection and the formation of blood clots are also possible complications. Speech impediments can be caused by traction or damage to certain nerves. What are the long-term expectations? In cases where the symptoms improve with decompressive surgery, the symp- toms may reappear at some stage. In patients where the nerves have been damaged permanently, the dysfunction of the nerves (numbness, pain and weakness) may not clear up. In patients where the operation successfully treated the symptoms, ongoing spinal degeneration may lead to pathology of the adjacent (or a distant) spinal level resulting in future surgery on that level. This is believed to be a process that, even though part of the normal ageing process, is spe