can you (the patient) see the fusion?

[mona]

Hi everyone, i'm wondering about the fusion and if it's solid enough, can you see it when you look at your x-rays?
let's say you're 1 year or two post-op when the fusion is suppose to be solid, can you look at your x-rays and compare it with your lets say 1month post-op x-rays and see any difference?
i'm not talking about one or two levels i'm talking about the whole fusion, i'm almost 10 months post-op and i don't see any difference at all between my 5minutes post-op and other follow up x-rays and my last x-rays (9 months and a half post-op)
i'm really confused, my doctor says "your x-rays look good", but how did he know i mean, my first and last x-rays post-op are exactly the same are the fusion is something only the doctor can see? or he is just saying that because i don't have anything broken?
maybe 10 months is soon, but when it's the time to tell that your fusion has faild? and what do they do about it? (if you don't have broken hardware)
oh yeah another thing sorry what about the loose screws can you notice one if you or the doctor looked at the x-rays?

Thanks

[judyk]

When my doctor said my Xrays looked good at 3 months postop he added that there was "bone growth all over the place." He said at one year you should be able to tell if the fusion is solid.

[LindaRacine]

Hi Mona...

I've bene able to see fusion on films once it's pointed out by a doctor. It's fairly subtle.

--Linda

[itsjustme]

hmm... I know that when my doctor looks at my x-rays to see if all of the screws are in place he looks at the x-ray where I'm laying on my side. He pretty much looks to see if they are all even. That's how I know and he knows if any of the screws have become loose. As for the fusion itself taking place, I'm lost on that one. All of my x-rays look the same, granted I'm only 6months post-op. Hope this helps. ~Shelley

[KUBUs]

I'm almost 3 years post-op, and the only thing I see is bone..sure you can determine where the screws were, but i see bone which is what I wanna see in the 1st place.

Right after the operation, you can see the screws and rods and its evident that how swollen the spin and the surrounding tissues are..but now if I look at it i see Bone like I said before, no screws unless u use ur imagination.

You are having the same worries like I had, and agood rule of thumb is that most fusion fail in the 1st 2 years whereas the rods break or the screw are loosen-thast what my doc said.

[LindaRacine]

Hi Mona...

If you look at the second set of images on this web page:

http://www.spineuniverse.com/display...ticle1551.html

I think you can see quite a bit of fusion around the spines.

--Linda

[itsjustme]

Linda~

Please correct me if I'm wrong on this one. But as the fusion is taking place and the bone is growing, you will not see the screws as well as before?? Like I've said, I'm only 6months post-op, but when I looked at my last x-rays they look just like the ones they took right after surgery. Should I be worried??? I don't want to call my doctor freaking out over nothing. Thanks

~Shelley

[LindaRacine]

Hi...

No, I think because the screws are denser than bone, they will always be more visible than the bone, and I don't think the images of the implants lighten over time.

--Linda

[mona]

Thank you all for replying you helped me alot