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So, you’re thinking of getting a spinal fusion surgery in Plano TX? Before making any decision, it is important to gather as much information as you can get. After all, this is a medical procedure, and you need to make sure all bases are covered.
“What can I expect after a spinal fusion?”
Spinal fusion is a major surgical procedure that fuses together two or more vertebrae into a single spine segment. This procedure is usually recommended by your doctor to restore the stability of your spine or to alleviate painful motion.
Spinal fusion helps in alleviating symptoms of most back problems, including:
- Degenerative skin disease
- Spinal stenosis
- Fractured vertebra
- Scoliosis
- Herniated disk
- Infection
Spinal Fusion Surgery Recovery
Typically, you’ll have to stay in the hospital for 2 to 3 days after the procedure. Once you released, you are likely to stay in bed for the first couple of weeks to ensure that you are well-rested. You will likely be under pain medication, as well.
After a few weeks, you will be allowed to increase your activities, with restrictions.
Normally, full recovery is achieved within a 12-week period.
How long does Spinal Fusion Surgery take?
The surgery usually takes place from 2.5 to 7 hours, depending on the severity of the condition.
Spinal fusion surgery success rate is an improvement in pain by 60% to 70% after surgery, and 80% of the patients give a satisfactory review for the outcome of the surgery. The surgery corrects many spinal conditions which cause persistent pain. By fusing vertebrae, it prevents the movement of the fused segments, effectively reducing back pain.
Doctors will recommend surgical procedure only when the cause of the pain is clearly identified. If your symptoms don’t improve with conservative treatments, spinal fusion surgery might be needed.
Traditionally, this surgery is a large-scale operation, demanding a lot of resources and bringing the patients to high risks of physical trauma, especially on the spine. But using the minimal invasive approach, which we use here in Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery in Texas (MINT), the operation can take place with lesser and lower risks.
On average, the patients need 5.7 days less for a hospital stay (some can even come home after the surgery), and the operation takes 19 minutes less to perform using this approach. It also reduces blood loss during the operation and lowers the infection rate, as the surgery only does minimal incision on the patient’s skin. With this, the reliance on postoperative pain management is also lessened.
The causes for opting a spinal fusion surgery may not change—degenerative disc disease, scoliosis, spinal fractures, and the like—and the negative effects may not be entirely eradicated. But, approaching it with minimally invasive techniques, the surgery itself will be less risky and the recovery will be more bearable.
Know more about the procedure by looking up a spinal fusion surgery video via the website.
To book for an appointment in MINT or for more inquiries about spinal fusion surgery in Plano TX, call our clinic at (972) 244-3491 or visit our site at www.minimallyinvasiveneurosurgerytexas.com.
