University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center helps 34-year-old patient regain neck and shoulder mobility with minimally invasive cervical surgery

Trumbull County resident had herniated disc repaired at hospital’s UH Neurological Institute

ASHTABULA COUNTY – University Hospitals (UH) Neurological Institute at UH Geauga Medical Center offers state-of-the-art surgical solutions for residents with spine and neck conditions in Geauga, Lake, Ashtabula, Portage and Trumbull Counties.

Barbara Schreiber, 34, who lives a short distance from the Geauga/Trumbull County border, came to UH Geauga Medical Center in late December with chronic neck and shoulder pain and lack of mobility. “My shoulder was burning and it felt like it was going in and out of the socket,” says Ms. Schreiber, a Southington resident. “My arm would go numb and it was hard to drive because I couldn’t turn my head. It made life difficult.” A physically active person, Ms. Schreiber’s condition also affected her job as a factory worker.

After an MRI revealed a herniated disc in her neck, Ms. Schreiber consulted with Roseanna Lechner, MD, a board-certified neurosurgeon and spine and neck specialist at UH Geauga Medical Center. “There was no traumatic injury, but Barbara had been experiencing pain and immobility for two months,” says Dr. Lechner, who works with patients at UH Geauga Medical Center twice a week and is Division Chief of Neurological Surgery at UH Ahuja Medical Center in Beachwood. “I recommended a discectomy and cervical fusion of the C5-C6 disc, which was pressing against her spinal cord.”

One week after first seeing Dr. Lechner, Ms. Schreiber underwent the fusion at UH Neurological Institute at UH Geauga Medical Center. “I was in the hospital overnight and my pain was totally gone following the surgery,” says Ms. Schreiber, a former nurse’s aide. “I’ve had to gradually increase my activity level but I have full range of motion, I feel wonderful and I can’t wait to go back to work.”

Discectomy and cervical fusion represent just one dimension of the neurological spine and neck care available close to home at UH Geauga Medical Center. The multidisciplinary team of UH Neurological Institute specialists offers safe, effective procedures to treat cervical and lumbar conditions including degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, osteoporotic compression fractures, spinal trauma and spinal tumors.

Dr. Lechner’s specialty focuses on minimally invasive spine and neck procedures like the one performed on Barbara Schreiber. “I work closely with the Comprehensive Pain Center at UH Geauga Medical Center as well,” says Dr. Lechner. “With a full range of care that includes surgery, physical therapy and pain management, the hospital is experienced and well-equipped to address spine and neck issues in the Geauga County region.”

Barbara Schreiber’s outcome has been exactly as she hoped. “Everyone at UH Geauga Medical Center was wonderful and they explained every detail about what was going to happen with my surgery,” she says. “Dr. Lechner put me at ease and I’m very grateful, because if it wasn’t for her I would still be in a lot of pain today.”