Considering Spinal Fusion Surgery

[zaqxsw]

Just wanting to get some feedback on other people's experience with this type of surgery. I'm looking at fusing L5-S1. Also considering expanding this to L4-S1 as I don't want to go through this procedure again.

Interested in recovery times, pain involved, any problems incurred. I know it is one of the most critical spine surgeries.

Getting old and it's time for me to do this due to recovery time.

One learned lesson is to watch your workouts. At some point, they can become more detrimental than healthful. I'm not just talking about the spine.

 

[frayne]

I had spinal fusion surgery; L4,5,S1 four years ago at 69 years of age. Had four months of recovery and six months until I could play golf and swing a club half ways decent. Wasn't fun but in hindsight well worth it. Feel free to PM me if you would like the particulars.

FYI: Well prior to the surgery I had done PT, steroid shots and surgery was the last recourse as it should always be. That said, in hindsight, I'd wished I had done it sooner.

 

[CardsFan]

We have a friend who recently had similar surgery. Not sure of the exact location, but sounds close to yours.

She had a previous, less invasive surgery, that had no real success. She had the fusion around 12/29/2023.

We saw her last week. Big improvement, minimal pain (she just takes Ibuprofen once a day). Still uses a walker when out, but can get by at home without it.

She is Soooo happy so far. There was a waiting period to start PT, but now she is ready, so more improvement to follow.

Good luck. It CAN be game changing.

 

[Montecfo]

I had an L4-L5 fusion many years ago. I had broken a bone in my back years earlier without realizing it. A lot of pain had developed and the fusion eventually did the job but the path was rocky.

The surgeon or some fused bone fragments punctured my dura mater resulting in a slow leak of cerebrospinal fluid into a nasty sac at base of spine. Press on that and my head would just about explode with the pressure on the brain and severe pain. There was a second surgery to repair that, about 6 weeks after the first. That whole time I was bedridden as getting out of bed or any pressure on my back resulted in the most intense pain I have ever experienced.

After the 2nd surgery I had to stay flat on my back for a week to allow the patch to take. Very tough to do.

After that was 6 months in a brace though I resumed activity-gingerly- somewhere in that time and subsequently recovered fully.

In the decades since my back has been pretty healthy especially given how active I was.

No surgeries since but came close 5 years ago after aggravating it after adding a rowing machine to my workouts. I have since recovered, praise God for that.

It is a very serious surgery with a not small risk of complications. In my case I had clear evidence of a problem and the surgeries did fix it.

But I would exhaust all less serious options first for sure.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

I recommend watching this interview with "Back Mechanic" author Stuart McGill PH.D.
I know I will get flack about the length but it really is worth watching.


https://peterattiamd.com/stuartmcgill/

 

[Sunset]

I had it in that area, got a titanium brace screwed in along with bone growth stuff.

It's been over a decade , and has been great !
I'm pretty careful now and not stupid with my back, ie No more jumping off roofs

I will say I was extremely careful during recovery and wore the hard shell brace religiously that I was fitted with prior to the surgery.

 

[zaqxsw]

Thank you for all of the replies!

 

[sengsational]

I recommend watching this interview with "Back Mechanic" author Stuart McGill PH.D.
I know I will get flack about the length but it really is worth watching.


https://peterattiamd.com/stuartmcgill/

I was also going to recommend this talk.


What I think you will get out of the talk is that these operations are a lot of trouble, and can often be solved without such drastic intervention. For example, if you did the post-surgery back care and exercises, but without doing the surgery, it might just solve the problem. The thesis of McGill is that there is no charge code for what many back patients need, so the service isn't offered. McGill's book has 3 exercises that you can find on YouTube. These are daily exercises that take a few minutes. Curl up, bird dog, and ??. Just search. McGill 3 with those and you'll find examples. It's worth doing a month of those, which would be much less trouble than hobbling around for months after surgery (or worse if the surgery doesn't go well).

 

[VanWinkle]

A friend of mine just went through fusion therapy in November 2023 and is very happy with the results. He went from daily pain to minor pain with some stiffness at this time. He continues to improve and is walking 1-2 miles every day. Results vary by the patient and the surgeon so choose wisely when checking with doctors.

 

[Chuckanut]

McGill's book has 3 exercises that you can find on YouTube. These are daily exercises that take a few minutes. Curl up, bird dog, and ??. Just search. McGill 3 with those and you'll find examples. It's worth doing a month of those, which would be much less trouble than hobbling around for months after surgery (or worse if the surgery doesn't go well).

The third exercise is the side plank, IIRC. Since they require no special gear other than your body and the floor, they are a good maintenance activity when traveling or when time is very short.

 

[Sunset]

I was also going to recommend this talk.


What I think you will get out of the talk is that these operations are a lot of trouble, and can often be solved without such drastic intervention. For example, if you did the post-surgery back care and exercises, but without doing the surgery, it might just solve the problem. The thesis of McGill is that there is no charge code for what many back patients need, so the service isn't offered. McGill's book has 3 exercises that you can find on YouTube. These are daily exercises that take a few minutes. Curl up, bird dog, and ??. Just search. McGill 3 with those and you'll find examples. It's worth doing a month of those, which would be much less trouble than hobbling around for months after surgery (or worse if the surgery doesn't go well).

When I had so much pain I considered quitting work, that's when I went to a doc.

I did months of PT. and it didn't help.
They did give me a pill(s) for 3 days which was like magic, and I felt normal for a week , then it returned.
Finally they x-ray , see the bones are misaligned and the doc brings me down the hall to the surgeon.

While PT can help some folks, for others it does nothing to fix the problem.

<edit> I agree PT can help if the back pain is a new thing, as probably irritated something, should do the PT.
But in my case it was persistent for many years constant pain when standing/walking.

 

[Montecfo]

I was also going to recommend this talk.


What I think you will get out of the talk is that these operations are a lot of trouble, and can often be solved without such drastic intervention. For example, if you did the post-surgery back care and exercises, but without doing the surgery, it might just solve the problem. The thesis of McGill is that there is no charge code for what many back patients need, so the service isn't offered. McGill's book has 3 exercises that you can find on YouTube. These are daily exercises that take a few minutes. Curl up, bird dog, and ??. Just search. McGill 3 with those and you'll find examples. It's worth doing a month of those, which would be much less trouble than hobbling around for months after surgery (or worse if the surgery doesn't go well).

I agree with this. When my back (same spot as prior surgery) flared up in 2018 (row machine exuberance) it looked like I was heading for surgery again.

I went to PT as directed. I was skeptical. But after about 8-10 weeks I was pain free.

And have incorporated some of those stretches into my workout routine

 

[zaqxsw]

Thanks, but my post wasn't looking for suggestions, just fusion surgery experiences. I do appreciate the helpful suggestions!

This has been a journey for over a decade. I've seen 5 Neurosurgeons / Orthopedic Surgeons, have had 6 epidurals over 10 years, 11 trigger point injections over 4 years, a year of Pilates/yoga, 6 months of PT, 3 months of acupuncture, 6 months of new age mindfulness, sciatic medications, sciatic exercise classes, 6 months of targeted massages, and 8 years of mild Hydrocodone medication which I quit in April of 2021.

And I worked out through all of this 3-4 times a week. Unrelated to my spine, I learned you can't keep doing exercise to the extent you used to. Your body can't take it.

All of the options are behind me. It's time. I just wish I had made this decision before all of the above. I could have recovered a whole lot easier 10 years ago.

 

[Sunset]

My experience was that I was lucky and got a great surgeon (he teaches it).
My hospital stay was short, I was walking with physio therapist the next day down the hospital hallway.
Had many follow up visits to the doctor's office to get xray'd to see how it was healing, and take out staples.

I will say I know a fellow that was slack on following the rules about wearing the brace, etc. his didn't heal well, now he uses a scooter.

I wore my brace when out of bed for the first couple of weeks then only when outside for maybe a month or so (I forget).
Wore my brace to work.

 

[CO-guy]

Thank you to the OP and everyone that has responded to share their experiences. I have had a herniated disk between L5/S1 since an accident when I was a teen.

By my mid-30s it had gotten to the point that I was missing work several days a month and I visited a surgeon that encouraged me to try PT, yoga or anything else that that strengthened the back and core while managing flareups of sciatica with pain medication. He estimated 2-3 years before would need surgery and told me that as a sort of benchmark to try to beat. Shortly after, I moved to Colorado and simply living a more active lifestyle (along with yoga) kept me mostly pain free for another decade. But the sciatica returned in my mid-40s, not with back pain, but with bilateral bulging of the achilles tendons, which is what led me to PT (and was fully resolved with PT).

Now, moving into my mid-50s, it's become clearer that remaining active, having a solid core, and a toolkit of daily PT exercises is only going to take me so far. So it's nice to hear from others about the road ahead. Thank you again to everyone who shared stories and online resources.

 

[zaqxsw]

Well, after 10 years of the back pain journey described above, I had spinal fusion surgery involving L4-S1, two levels, three vertebrae, on Feb.26, 2024, 4 weeks ago.

My leg and lower back nerve pain is GONE. I walked the next day after surgery and was dismissed from the hospital that day. This isn't something to do lightly, it's major surgery with a lot of pain and recovery related to it. I had gone through all of the alternative solutions previously mentioned before. No real choice about this surgery was left.

I will have been in recovery 4 weeks tomorrow. Some nerve pain disappeared in just a few days, other in a few weeks.

I can walk and stand again! A huge PLUS but a lot of soreness and stiffness at the surgery location. I wore a back brace for the last 4 weeks whenever I was standing, but not when I was laying down. Just started weaning myself off it in the last few days while standing.

A big concern of mine, besides the outcome of the surgery, was the Oxycodone prescribed. It seems like I could have gotten a refill at any time I wanted. I guess they know what you're going through. You absolutely need it at first. I started a taper on the 3rd day after surgery and will be off of it tomorrow (1/2 a tablet). Do not underestimate the addiction potential of this drug.

My surgeon recommended having your pain guide you when to cut back. I really disagree. I'd still be on it.

I drove this weekend for the first time, and without the brace. DW has been driving... DW was supervising when I just started driving. There is a lot less pain without the brace vs riding in a vehicle with it.

Anyway, a I'm super glad I did the surgery at this point and just anticipate better outcomes from it in the future. Trying to think of way to thank the surgeon when I have a follow-up visit.

 

[Montecfo]

That's great to hear. Immediate pain relief is not what I experienced, but nerves healed over time. After 5 months it was gone.

Hope you continue to heal much more quickly!

 

[Sunset]

Sounds like it's coming along great !!

I would wear the back brace until the doc says it's fine to take it off.

When I wore mine, I first stopped wearing it while in the house , but would wear it when going outside the house. Reason being it's a lot more likely there will be an accident/fall when not in the house. Just somebody running into you could do massive damage.

That's how it was explained to me, so that's what I did, everything turned out fine.

 

[frayne]

Great news and every day it will get better.

 

[pacergal]

Good to read about your successful surgery.
Day by day will improve.

 

[zaqxsw]

Thank you! I'm blessed and lucky on this one.