Fusion at L4-L5 and L5-S1 with weak L3/L4 disc

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wxKathy2

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Hi All,

Hubby will be having fusion afterall - neurosurgeon said he can fuse L4-L5 and L5-S1 even though all of his lurabar discs showed problems on the discogram. The L3/L4 disc is compromised to the surgeons says that will decrease his chances of success from about 85-90% to about 65%....

Hubby is set on doing this July 15th (and teaches and classes begin August 24)....If anyone has done this with a similar disc situation I would be very grateful to hear about your experiences and recovery requirements.....

They said his L2/L3 disc is worse than the L3/L4 so they wouldn't want to try to fuse another level. What happens if the L3/L4 disc fails to support the fusion?

He's been on crutches twice in the last year and had numerous cort shots.....and he cannot take pain pills so I guess something has to be done....
Thanks everyone and best wishes,
Kathy
 
Kathy im sorry for what you and your husband are going through,,,

recovery time on a single level fusion is anywhere from 9-18 months. thats what my neurosugeons(i got 2) one that does major surgeries and one that does minimully avasive procedures.

if you look at the surgery's success rate its not so good. maybe after years of recovery it might be different. you may want to get a second opinion just to be sure thats where you want to go.

its always good to do the research fully first,,, you can always drop the surgery date back a bit so you can get alittle more advice first. the reason i am saying this to you is a fusion is perminant, im not trying to scare you.
 
Hi,
Thank you for your reply - This is my feeling also that you can't take too much time making this most permanent decision- also I have chronic health issues which will make it very hard for me to care for him (he is 47 and I am 44 and we have no children) so knowing the truth about how long the recovery is is very helpful and I appreciate it - we are going to need a lot of help.......I hope you have not had to have this and I thank you for your reply.
Best wishes,
Kathy
 
yes i had it not knowing alot of the ramifications of it,, i got hurt and they where all like theis is what u need now. so then it all started,, its a big decision to go threw with, the success rat is not that good,,
 
Your husband's spine sounRAB identical to mine. I had an L4/L5, L5/S1 fusion done 4 years ago. My L2/L3 was bulging at the time. It has been 4 years and my L3/L4 is now herniated (with the L2/L3 still bulging a little more than it was). I am trying to decide how to proceed with the pain treatment. I won't have another surgery until it becomes unbearable. I do have some other issues with my lower back to consider. I see my doc on Friday. We are going to discuss steroid injections or a spinal stimulator. I guess I should say HE is going to discuss them because I am not a fan of injections and the stimulator just scares me.

Anyway, my biggest worry for him is how soon he is going back to work after his surgery. There is NO way I could have gone back to work that soon. I have a lot of scar tissue in my lower back just from doing simple housework or cooking for myself after the surgery. There is no bending or lifting more than 5 lbs for 3 months. His activities really should be limited. I had to wear a back brace for almost 3 months. Have they discussed physical therapy after his surgery? After 3 months post op, I started PT. I had PT for 2 months after that.

People heal differently and handle pain differently. I have a very high tolerance for pain and let me tell you, I hurt like HELL for a while. I wondered what I was thinking to have the surgery lol The nerves were pretty mad after the surgery. Once they started "waking up", as my neurosurgeon called it, they made sleep and life pretty unbearable at times.

With all that being said, I would have had the surgery again in a heartbeat. I could barely walk prior to the surgery because the nerve pain in my left leg was so bad. I have gone 4 years before the other discs really became a problem. I do have chronic pain but that to me was better than not being able to walk and risking nerve damage in my leg.

Good Luck to him but PLEASE discuss his recovery time and limitations with the surgeon!!
 
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