Selective Fusion

[Lorz]

Has anyone ever heard of fusing only the apex of the curves, in order to prevent progression only? A local surgeon I saw proposed this as an alternative to a full fusion. He is not a member of SRS, but did extensive training in England at a large spine center(can't recall the name)with a surgeon who is considered top in that country. Does this option make any sense at all? Linda, have you ever heard of it? Thanks in advance!

[jrnyc]

Linda told me about these types of fusions in reference to my own surgery needs...
if you do a search under "selective fusions" you will find some of the posts about it...however, that search also highlights all words with "fusion"

i need fusion T4-pelvis, but the surgeons all agreed to compromise for T11-pelvis instead...i don't think they would start any lower for me...

good luck with your search...

jess

[LindaRacine]

Hi Lori...

As far as I know, this hasn't been studied in adults. With that said, "when can we do less" is a frequest topic of discussion here at UCSF, and I suspect it is at other institutions.

I can tell you that no one has a crystal ball about this, so even if you were to have a smaller fusion done, there's a reasonable chance you'd end up having to have a longer fusion, and more surgery done at some point.

As I say a lot, I wouldn't get too hung up on selecting a specific type of surgery. As somone recently stated, "choose the physician, not the procedure." Once you've chosen the physician, talking with them about whether it might be appropriate to do less would be something to discuss, but be sure that they understand you're inquiring about it, not pushing for it.

Regards,
Linda

[Lorz]

Linda,

You made some very good points. Thanks for your input.