Fresno Cervical Disc Replacement: Neck Surgery Close to Home

Where your care takes place

Central Valley Advanced Spine sees patients in Fresno, California. We do not have offices in other towns, and we do not need them for Fresno patients: your consultation, surgery and checkups are all a short drive away. For most people in the city that means a trip across town, not a highway drive to another county.

Neck surgery is done at Fresno Surgical Hospital, here in town. We will confirm the arrival time and the plan for your stay once a date is chosen.

A short look at the operation

The discs in the neck sit between the bones and let you bend and turn your head. When one wears down or part of it pushes backward, it can squeeze a nerve root or the spinal cord. In a cervical disc replacement, the surgeon works through a small cut in a skin crease on the front of the neck, removes the damaged disc and any bone spurs, and places an artificial disc that is built to keep moving.

The long-standing alternative is a fusion, called ACDF, where the two bones heal into one. Fusion is still the right operation for many necks. Our complete cervical disc replacement page compares the two and lists the reasons a replacement may not be a fit.

In early 2026 Dr. Higginbotham performed his first cervical total disc replacement with the Simplify Cervical Disc at Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno. He also performs neck fusions, so he can recommend whichever operation fits your imaging.

Who it may help in Fresno

Disc replacement is usually considered for adults with symptoms from one or two discs in the lower neck. The most common story is a herniated disc in the neck that causes pain down the arm, numbness in the fingers or a weak grip, and has not improved with therapy and time. Some people have disc degeneration with bone spurs that crowd a nerve.

Many Fresno jobs keep the head in one position for hours. Teachers grade at a desk, office staff work at screens, nurses chart between patients, and drivers watch mirrors all day. Other work, like farm labor, pruning and warehouse picking, involves reaching overhead or looking up. None of these jobs is a cause on its own, and neck discs wear with age for almost everyone. What your day looks like does matter for recovery planning, so tell us about it at the first visit.

A disc replacement may not be a good choice if you have strong arthritis in the small joints at the back of the neck, weak bones, an unstable neck or problems at more than two levels. Neck pain without nerve or spinal cord pressure is usually treated without surgery.

Your visits, step by step

1. First visit

   Exam of your arm strength, reflexes and feeling, plus a review of your neck MRI and x-rays.

2. Planning

   Sometimes flexion and extension x-rays or a CT scan are added to check how the neck moves and how strong the bone is.

3. Surgery

   General anesthesia. Many patients go home the same day or after one night.

4. Checkups

   Visits in the weeks and months after surgery, with x-rays to check the implant position.

Planning from Fresno

• Get the images, not just the report. If your MRI was done at a Fresno hospital or imaging center, ask for a disc or a secure link. We want to look at the pictures ourselves.
• Bring your history. Dates of any injections, therapy notes, a list of medicines (especially blood thinners) and any past neck or throat surgery.
• Think about swallowing. A sore throat and a lump feeling when swallowing are common for days to weeks after surgery from the front of the neck. Stock soft foods before surgery day.
• Arrange a driver. You will not drive home. Driving usually waits until you are off opioid pain medicine and can turn your head to check traffic, which matters on Fresno freeways.
• Plan your return to work. Desk work often resumes in one to three weeks. Heavier jobs may take six weeks or more.

If you already have a plan from another surgeon and want a fresh look, read how a second opinion on spine surgery works.

Common questions from Fresno patients