I was in a car accident 10 years ago. Two bones in my neck were damaged. The doctor fused them together at that time. Since then, I’ve managed to avoid any more surgery, but now the bones are collapsing and causing terrible pain. What can be done for this?

Some doctors are removing the bones and replacing them with mesh cages. The cages are made of titanium and held in place with locking plates. Titanium cages give immediate stability to the spine. Each cage is filled with pieces of bone to give rigid support.

There are problems with this method. Other doctors suggest just removing the back portion of the bone. This operation is called a laminoplasty. This will take pressure off the spinal cord without losing the support of the bone.