fusion

[scoliosisguy]

Has anyone here had a fusion surgery?
I was told that a fusion surgery is my olny optioon other than enduring pain. I was also told that after having a fusion surgery ,I would be disabled and unable to work.
Comments?

[brian86]

hey,

i think your mobility after surgery is different from patient to patient. I had my surgery when i was 16 in August 2002 and in april i was playing full contact lacrosse and had only minor problems that quickly went away. The type of work you do also might factor into whether you can work after surgery.

[scoliosisguy]

after fusion surgery can you no longer bend at all,for example,tying your shoes?

[susannajon]

How much you can bend will vary based on which vertebrae are fused. Pretty much everybody who is fused CAN bend. Your spine bends above and below the fusion, and you can still bend at the hips and knees. The lumbar and cervical regions cause the greatest impact to flexibility. Go get a couple of opinions from reputable scoliosis specialists. They should be able to give you a good idea of what your impact will be.

[scoliosisguy]

i was just told today when I saw my specialist that if i have the fusiion,I will be disabled and unable to work.He said there is nothing i can do for the pain and he says taking pain meds is never good. So all I'm left with is enduring the pain or getting the fusion

[susannajon]

You owe it to yourself to get at least three opinions. Don't go by what the first doc says! Good luck.

[scoliosisguy]

IS the surgery long?

Is it painful afterwards?

How risky of infection or other complications?

How long is recovery time?

What about cutting bone from other areas that is used for fusing vertabrae,Does that casue problems or sever pain in area bone was removed?

[brian86]

is the surgery long?

i had two 7 hour surgeries, anterior and posterior, one day apart.

is it painful afterwards?

yes but you are on so many drugs to lessen the pain

how long is the recovery time?

i was in the hospital for 9 days and at home for about 1 month before i started going to school for half days then another couple of weeks before i could sit in school for the full day.

What about cutting bone from other areas that is used for fusing vertabrae,Does that casue problems or sever pain in area bone was removed?

the bone used in my fusion was taken from the bone bank ( a dead guy, i know theres some proper medical term for it but i forget)


it sounds like you should see another doctor for a 2nd opiion and ask him some of these questions so you can get answers based on your personal case.