Q: I am 40 years old and have severe neck pain radiating to my right hand fingers. The MRI shows large right paracentral herniation of C6-7 disk and small right paracentral herniation of C5-6 disc. I would like to know what are the risks involved in a decompression surgery and the time taken for recovery.

A:Decompression surgery done in good hands under microscope has minimal risks. However, decompression alone is not enough in your case. The disc space left behind needs to be replaced with an artificial disc or a fusion procedure with instrumentation is necessary. It takes about 10-15 days to recover.