Information available in X-rays? No news is good news?

[SIsForSarah]

I was wondering if a radiologist can tell from an x-ray if:
- There is disc degeneration?
- Two vertebrae are fusing on their own (and not as a result of surgery)?

I had an x-ray recently and when my doctor's office called with my results, all they said was that the rod was still in place. The thing is, I got the x-ray to see if my L5 and S1 vertebrae are fusing (they weren't part of my surgery years ago, but seem to be fusing, according to my physiotherapist, possibly from the stress of having a disc herniated in that area for a long time). The doctor's office told me there was nothing about those vertebrae on the radiologist's report. Can I assume that no news is good news?

Just as a side note, I got a chance to see the x-ray online at my physiotherapist's office. I'd never seen my Harrington rod and instrumentation before. My first thought was, "Wow, those look like K'Nex!" (K'Nex are those rods/connectors structure building sets for kids!). It was totally bizarre to think that something that looked like a toy has been keeping me upright for 18 years - science is amazing!

[JulieBW]

I always ask my doctor's office for a copy of my report. There is often a lot of information in the report that your doctor may not think is significant or understandable to you. That is probably true, but I always want to know just what was said in the report.

[loves to skate]

Yes, you can see disc degeneration on an x-ray. I don't know about the fusion of two vertebrae, but if you can't see the disc and two vertebrae are on top of each other, fusion could be a possibility. You might even ask for a copy of the x-ray when you ask for a copy of the report. They usually don't keep x-ray around for very long anymore, so it is a good idea for you to keep them. Sally

[SIsForSarah]

Thanks, Julie - that's a good idea. I do have a copy of my two sentence CT scan report and ended up Googling a bunch of the terms used and sort of understand it. Maybe I can do the same with the X-ray report.

Thanks loves to skate - I actually got a print-out of the X-ray from my physiotherapist. It really looks like something solid is connecting my L5 and S1 vertebrae but it could be bone spurs (they were listed on my CT scan report). I'm thinking if it is fused, it's because of the bone spurs, but it's only on one side of the two vertebrae. My physiotherapist looked at this and thought it was fusion, but the report from the radiologist didn't mention anything. The whole thing is sort of strange.