Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

Conservative treatment for cervical disc herniation includes:

• Rest
• A cervical collar or neck brace
• Anti-inflammatory medication
• Steroid medication
• Physical therapy that may include cervical traction

Only about 10 percent of cervical herniation patients require surgery. Various surgical procedures are available depending on the severity of herniation. They include:

• Microdiscectomy or removal of the herniated part of the disc

• Anterior cervical decompression and fusion in which the disc is removed and the vertebrae are fused together by means of a dowel bone graft, which comes from cadaver bone, between the vertebrae

• Cervical endoscopic foramenotomy, with or without discectomy, is a minimally invasive procedure in which the herniated disc material is removed using tiny incisions