Dr. Stefano Sinicropi, M.D.

You may assume that spine surgery is performed with the patient lying on their stomach so the surgeon can make an incision along the back, but sometimes it’s better for both the patient and surgeon for the operation to involve an anterior approach. Anterior cervical spine surgery means that the surgeon will create the opening on the front of your neck, just to the side of your voice box. While it can be optimal for technical reasons, sometimes the controlled trauma of the anterior approach can make swallowing difficult during your recovery.

Swallowing challenges can range from mildly annoying to life threatening, so it’s important to know what you can do to make it easier for you to swallow comfortably and safely following an anterior cervical spinal procedure. We share tips for managing swallowing challenges after anterior cervical spinal operation in today’s blog.

Overcoming Swallowing Difficulty After Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery

Swallowing challenges are pretty common after anterior cervical spine surgery as a result of the trauma of surgery, bruising or swelling following the operation, scar formation or hardware positioning, but these swallowing difficulties are almost always temporary. It’s very rare for these challenges to persist beyond 6-8 weeks, but talk with your doctor about what you can expect and how to best manage any issues you’re facing.

Some general advice for patients facing swallowing challenges following anterior cervical spinal surgery includes:

• Avoiding dry, hard or crumbly foods like toast, crackers, chips or cookies.
• Avoiding foods with skins like grapes, corn, peas, tomatoes and beans.
• Sitting upright when eating and drinking so gravity assists the process.
• Focusing on eating, drinking and swallowing at meal time and avoiding distractions.
• Opting for soft and moist foods like soup, yogurt, crustless sandwiches, eggs and pasta.
• Being cognizant of taking painkiller medications prior to meals if swallowing is painful.
• Being careful not to rush through meals.

Again, your doctor can provide you with some specific advice for managing any swallowing issues you are facing, but you should also know some of the swallowing signs that suggest you should get in touch with your surgeon after discharge. If swallowing is extremely hard or seemingly impossible, if your swallowing ability seems to be getting worse instead of better, or if you’re still dealing with swallowing problems six weeks after surgery, it may be time to have another conversation with your care team.

For most people, swallowing challenges after anterior cervical spine surgery is a short-term annoyance, but it isn’t something that should be taken lightly. Follow your doctor’s swallowing advice and keep the guidance tips above in mind, and you should be able to overcome this temporary discomfort.

For more information about overcoming some of the challenges associated with anterior cervical spinal surgery or a different type of back surgery, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi and the team at Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.

Comments are closed.