Solving the Puzzle: How Neck Surgery Gave Shonda Relief

Unexplained dizziness. Migraine headaches. Blurry vision. Neck and shoulder pain.

Initially, Shonda blamed what became her daily struggle on a recent dental injury.  But when that no longer made sense, the 50-year-old nurse from Mooreville was left clueless. 

Symptoms Spinning Out of Control

Was it an ear, nose and throat problem or a bacterial or viral infection attacking her body? Could it be early signs of multiple sclerosis or some other autoimmune disorder?

“I was having migraines every other day,” she recalled, “and my vision was blurry. Nobody could really figure it out.”

Searching for Answers to Medical Puzzle

For almost three years, Shonda lived with symptoms that had no name and no solution. Then Dr. Jeff Brown at Barnes Crossing Medical Clinic referred her to Dr. Sudhin Kanabar at Neurology Consultants of North Mississippi. 

Finally, the puzzle began to take shape. 

An MRI revealed the culprit—cervical stenosis with myelopathy. Dr. Kanabar referred her to Dr. Elbert White, a neurosurgeon with North Mississippi Neurosurgical Services. Both physicians are part of North Mississippi Medical Center’s Neuroscience Institute in Tupelo.

“Cervical myelopathy is a result of cervical stenosis, which happens when there is a pinch on the spinal cord,” Dr. White explains. “It’s like a slow march toward becoming paralyzed.”

For most people, cervical stenosis starts with neck pain. “Then it progresses to numbness and loss of coordination in the hands,” he said. “As it continues, it leads to loss of coordination of the legs, so you are at high risk for falls.”

Left untreated, the condition can lead to permanent nerve damage and paralysis.

Treating Cervical Stenosis

In August 2025, Dr. White performed a surgical procedure called anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, or ACDF. The surgery was done through a small incision on the front right side of Shonda’s neck, allowing direct access to her cervical spine without disturbing surrounding muscles and tissues.

“Using a microscope, we remove the damaged disk from her spine,” Dr. White said. “I take a spacer, which looks like five dimes stacked on top of each other, and place that were the disk was. This spacer aids with the fusion of the bones and leads to long-term stability.”

Depending on the nature of their job, patients can return to work in two to six weeks. Within six to nine months, the bone will completely heal back together.

Surgery Provided Immediate Relief

Shonda stayed overnight in the hospital and returned home the next day with only a small bandage on her neck, and without the pain and discomfort that had plagued her for years.

“Since my surgery, I haven’t had a single migraine headache and no dizziness or neck and shoulder pain,” she said. “Without a doubt, the surgery has greatly improved my quality of life.”

For Dr. White, outcomes like Shonda’s are what makes his work so rewarding.

“I really care about my patients. I tell them that I’m not performing the procedure to make you feel better, I’m performing it to prevent you from getting worse,” he said. “But it’s so rewarding to see patients come back and be able to button buttons, zip zippers, crochet again and use utensils to eat. That’s incredibly rewarding and why I love what I do.”