Domino effect..................??

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Devon07

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As my surgery nears I start to think about the fusion and the possible domino effect....My doctor told me when he suggested the 360 two level fusion that the disc above it all was very good looking......does this mean im less likely to have the domino effect??....Im very concerned about this...those of you who had trouble in this area tell me if your surrounding vertibrae were good and then went bad....or were the questionable and went bad....how does all this work?


Thanks for any help......;)


Devon
 
L4-L5 is the level of the spine that bears the largest load when bending. If you have this level fused it no longer takes the load. When you bend the load is transferred to L3-L4 the disc above it.

When they do a spinal fusion they must determine if they are fusing to a solid level without problems otherwise the disc will break down more quickly. With that being said no matter how good the disc is above the fusion level it still is being put under additional stress and there is a very real chance of it breaking down over the years. Of course if it is a healthy disc the process will be slower but there are no guarantees that you will not end up with the domino effect occuring.
 
Thanks pooby......I was hoping you would tell me I was going to be superman after the fusion.;) I guess I will just need to ease up on the ole back from now on....Thats an expensive bandaid huh?


Devon
 
Hi Devon. I'm someone who has very fragile bones due to osteoporosis. In my case I had my first fusion because of compression fractures. Unfortunately, every time I had a fusion the next vertabrae (upper and lower) later fractured and it was a total domino effect. Now I am completely fused from C4-S1 and my sacral joints are also fused. If you have good healthy bone above and below the fusion point, you should be pretty happy with the outcome. If you have any question, however, I think I would hold off. Good luck! Memere (KathyMac)
 
Hi Memere....and thanks for your input.....I was just a bit curious as to my odRAB...lol I feel durab asking this late in the game but I needed to ask....My spine over all is really good based on what the doctors have all said.....I do have bulging discs at T8 and T9 as well and the pain there is unreal! I was with hope that the lurabar surgery would maybe relieve some of that pain....if not I will need to look into doing somthing about it. This will either get real good or real bad....I have a gut feeling it will get real good.

How are you dealing with your back these days? I cant even imagine all that work on your back. My wife said she is going to raise my life insurance because all the metal im getting these days is raising my value. lol

Devon
 
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