Side Effects After Spinal Fusion Surgery

Surgery can reopen your spinal canal.
Side effects after spinal fusion surgery. It eliminates the natural movement of two vertebrae which limits movement. Spinal fusion surgery like any surgery has risk factors that must be taken into consideration before undergoing the procedure. The mayo clinic indicates you will most likely be in the hospital for 2 to 3 days after surgery 1 3. Possible side effects of lumbar epidural steroid injection.
For those who choose spinal surgery they must realize it takes time to heal. This is a common side effect of severe arthritis in the spine. The most common risk of any of the modern spine fusion surgery techniques is the failure to relieve lower back pain symptoms following the surgery. The spinal fusion surgery risks include but are not limited to.
A spinal fusion is then performed to give stability to the area. Nonetheless reported side effects from epidural steroid injections include. See below for the nerve related side effects of several common procedures. In the best of all situations this risk occurs in a minimum of 20 of spine fusion surgeries.
What to expect after spinal fusion surgery. Spinal stenosis is when the canal in your spinal column narrows. Anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion accf this procedure is similar to acdf and is done to treat compression of the spinal cord. These tend to be rare and much less prevalent than the side effects from oral steroids.
There are drawbacks to spinal fusion surgery. Your spine may become unstable if there s abnormal or excessive motion between two vertebrae. It also puts more stress on the vertebrae next to the fusion therefore. Short term effects in the short term you can expect that your movements may feel somewhat unnatural after spinal fusion surgery.
Spinal fusion may be used to stabilize the spine after removal of a damaged herniated disk. In addition to risks from the injection there are also potential side effects from the steroid medication itself. It can take many months to fully recover from spinal fusion surgery 1 3. Depending on your specific operation you may go home the same day or stay a couple of days.
The aaos recommends starting physical therapy at week 6 and ongoing until 3 months post surgery 1 3 you may be instructed to wear a back brace. Spinal fusion can be used to restore spinal stability in such cases.