Herniation of the Cervical Disk in Plastic Surgeons

Herniations of the cervical disk in plastic surgeons are far more common in practice than the paucity of reported cases would indicate. A likely explanation may be the peculiar, nonergonomic positions that plastic surgeons must hold during surgery while wearing a headlight and loupes. From January 2003 to December 2006, at Tri-Service General Hospital, Taiwan, 4 plastic surgeons experienced herniations of the cervical disk. Magnetic resonance imaging study indicated there was disk herniation or bulging with spinal cord impingement. Two plastic surgeons received cervical diskectomy, corpectomy with strut reconstruction using titanium cages. These 2 surgeons were symptom-free 2 years after their operations. The other 2 plastic surgeons were under conservative physical therapy with persistent symptoms. The clinical evidence indicated that cervical disk herniation is an occupational hazard in plastic surgeons. To prevent prolonged hyperflexion and twisting of the neck, we proposed wearing a cervical brace during surgery for the plastic surgeons at Tri-Service-General Hospital since January 2008. No more plastic surgeons have experienced herniation of the cervical disk since then. The results indicated that wearing a cervical brace may be an effective measure to protect plastic surgeons from cervical disk disease.