Can you avoid spinal fusion?

Spinal fusion an also often be avoided in many patients with lumbar spinal disease. Perhaps the most common reason for patients undergoing a lumbar fusion is lumbar stenosis with degenerative spondylolisthesis. Lumbar fusion is required to restabilize the spine if open surgery is performed.

Is there an alternative to spinal fusion?

Cervical disc replacement offers an alternative to spinal fusion for patients suffering from the symptoms of degenerative disc disease (DDD) of the cervical spine. Individuals suffering arm pain or weakness caused by DDD may be candidates for cervical disc replacement.

Should you avoid spinal fusion?

Spinal Instability and your pain issues

We don't like to recommend spinal fusion because it does not, in many cases, correct the underlying problems of spinal instability as many people would think it would. In fact, spinal fusion surgery may increase spinal instability and degeneration.

How do you prevent spinal fusion?

Is spinal fusion surgery necessary?

Spinal fusion is typically an effective treatment for fractures, deformities or instability in the spine. But study results are more mixed when the cause of the back or neck pain is unclear. In many cases, spinal fusion is no more effective than nonsurgical treatments for nonspecific back pain.

Is it Possible to Avoid Spinal fusion Surgery? | Dr. Rajesh Kumar Verma

Why you should avoid back surgery?

If things go south, some of the potential complications of back surgery can include an adverse reaction to anesthesia, bleeding, infection, deadly blood clots that can circulate to the heart or lungs, heart attack, stroke, and nerve damage.

Is spinal fusion a high risk surgery?

The most common risk of any of the modern spine fusion surgery techniques is the failure to relieve lower back pain symptoms following the surgery. In the best of all situations, this risk occurs in a minimum of 20% of spine fusion surgeries.

What can I do instead of back surgery?

Who is not a candidate for spinal fusion?

Who is NOT a good candidate for spinal fusion? You may not be a good candidate if: You have been having back or neck pain or symptoms for less than six months. Your spine condition affects discs or vertebrae at multiple levels of your spine.

How many years does a spinal fusion last?

Surgical screws, rods or metal plates are used to hold the vertebrae together. In more complex cases, two or more interlocking vertebrae may be involved in the spinal fusion procedure. The results of a fusion are permanent.

Can spinal fusion cause problems later in life?

The most common thing we see in the clinic in patients who have spinal fusion complications years later is either a return of back pain or new symptoms. These both indicate possible new disease.

What is the success rate of spinal fusion surgery?

Depending on the condition the surgery is treating, spinal fusion has a 70 to 90% success rate.

Which is better spinal fusion or disc replacement?

Artificial disc replacement offers some advantages over spinal fusion. The biggest advantage is that disc replacement preserves motion and mobility in the spine while fusion does not. This is especially important for people who want to live active and not just pain-free lives.

Can spinal stenosis heal without surgery?

Can spinal stenosis be treated without surgery? Yes. In fact, less than 5% of patients with a spinal disorder ever require spine surgery. There is a wide variety of medications available to relieve inflammation, pain, and muscle spasm.

Is back Fusion a good idea?

Back surgery can help relieve some causes of back pain, but it's rarely necessary. Most back pain resolves on its own within three months. Low back pain is one of the most common ailments seen by family doctors.

Which is better laminectomy or fusion?

The authors concluded that lumbar laminectomy plus fusion was associated with a slightly greater but clinically meaningful improvement in physical health-related quality of life compared to laminectomy alone [6].

How do you know when you need spinal fusion?

If a patient's low back pain and other symptoms do not improve with extensive conservative (nonsurgical) treatment and other causes of low back pain have been ruled out, then he or she may be considered for a spine fusion surgery.

How do you know if your spine is fusing?

When the spine becomes completely fused together, the pain in the spinal area usually goes away, but you are left with no spinal mobility and brittle bones that are more likely to fracture. If pain suddenly reappears in the back after a long period of no pain, you may have fractured a vertebra.

What are the risks of spinal fusion?

How can I heal my spine naturally?

Can lower back pain be cured permanently?

Most back pain gets better within a month of home treatment. However, everyone is different, and back pain is a complex condition. For many, the pain doesn't go away for a few months, but only a few have persistent, severe pain. Over-the-counter pain relievers and the use of heat might be all you need.

What is the failure rate of spinal fusion surgery?

Nearly 500,000 people undergo spinal fusion surgery each and every year. It is often a very successful surgery, but it also has a moderate failure rate, with estimates of returning and recurring chronic pain in between 10% and 25% of all patients.

What are the chances of dying during back surgery?

Results. Mortality for all patients requiring surgery of the lumbar spine was 0.13%. Mortality based on procedure type was 0.105% for simple fusions, 0.321% for complex fusions, and 0.081% for decompression only.

How painful is spinal fusion recovery?

As the back continues to heal, patients usually start to feel better and find they can take on more activities. The worst pain is generally over by 4 weeks after surgery. Pain is likely to continue to decrease gradually, but some patients continue to have pain 3 to 6 months after surgery.

Should I have surgery for herniated disc?

Your doctor might recommend surgery as an option for your herniated disc if: Your symptoms have lasted at least 6 weeks and make it hard to do your normal activities, and other treatments haven't helped. You need to get better quickly because of your job or to get back to your other activities as soon as possible.