A significant percentage of individuals suffer from back pain. Unfortunately, when non-invasive options like therapies and medications fail to resolve your symptoms, you may have to deal with the condition that will prevent you from enjoying your everyday life. The good news is that your healthcare provider may suggest spinal fusion to lower your debilitating symptoms and help you enjoy life.
What are the complications you are likely to have with spinal fusion?
The inability of the technique to minimize your painful back symptoms after the treatment is one of the most common complications of spinal fusion. Your likelihood of having unexpected negative post-op results (failed back surgery syndrome) increases significantly, especially when you have frequent fusions of more than three levels. Additionally, your vertebrae may fail to fuse following the procedure. Other complications you might have include:
- Your screws are likely to break or become loose, requiring additional surgery to revise them primarily if your doctor used pedicle screws during the procedure.
- The medical professional might recommend another surgical process when your anterior cages and grafts shift positions.
- Your chances of having a successful spinal fusion are minimal, especially if you smoke.
What does a failed back surgery mean?
When your doctor says you have a failed back surgery, they mean that you still have persistent back pain even after spinal surgery. Thus, your expected post-op outcome is not what you anticipated. Besides chronic back pain, other symptoms you are likely to have with failed back surgery include radicular pain, leg pain, and neurological symptoms like muscle weakness. However, a typical successful back surgery minimizes your debilitating symptoms, enhancing several other aspects of your everyday life, including mobility and muscle function. Therefore, knowing what to expect after the procedure may help your surgeon evaluate your pain and determine if it is related to the process.
To diagnose you with FBS, your doctor must relate your current spinal situation to the previous treatment. For instance, your surgeon might link the symptoms to degenerative changes on your spinal cord likely to result from aging.
What factors increase your chances of having a failed back surgery syndrome?
Several factors influence your risks of having an FBS after the process, some of which may be pre-operative, intraoperative, or post-operative.
Pre-operative risks include:
- Chronic pain linked to other conditions
- Obesity
- Existing mental disorders
- Smoking
- Inadequate surgical planning and poor patient selection (for the medical professional)
Intraoperative risks include:
- Incorrect surgical procedure
- Excessive decompression
- Inadequate decompression
Post-operative risks include:
- A recurrent initial diagnosis
- Spinal infection
- Nerve root irritation
- Epidural fibrosis
- Sagittal imbalance (issues with spinal balance)
- Adjacent segment disease (the area above the fusion experiences increased stress)
- Lack of fusion of your screws may result in the loosening of the devices
Spinal fusion is one of the procedures your doctor may recommend when you need to enhance stability in your spine. Though the treatment is effective, you need to consult your healthcare provider about spinal fusion’s potential complications.