at this point,just having a flexion and extension type of x ray may be able to tell whether or not you actually did fuse. my fusion did not take in my c spine,but the MRI i had done was inconclusive and recommended having a CT,well that CT stated i was INDEED fused despite my ongoing symptoms. i knew something just was not right since i was getting intermittant(the on and off nature of your symptoms would fit more with non fusion vs constant?)nurabness and tingling that was even worse than the pre op crap,i could also actually hear that bone piece grinding away when ever i turned my neck and the pain,oh that pain. the bone end when you are not fused just moves around a bit and can hit on nerves and other areas too when it is simply not actually attatched to anything.
it actually took me bugging the heck out of my neuros nurse for like nine months despite that 'perfect" fusion the ct stated i had,to convine her to even let me see my own neurosurgeon and to finally send me for a very simple flex and ext x ray. that one simple x ray told the whole story. it showed without a doubt that i was NOT fused. sometimes it is just really hard to tell whether or not a real solid fusion took place in there. but that particular x ray shows it pretty well. it works best on the c spine since you can actually see the boney prominences kind of fan out and not stick together at where that fusion is supposed to be, but even in the lower back area,if there is not real fusion going on,it would show in most cases,some level of gapping in there where the endplates are not attatched,you know what i mean? in my particular case,the top endplate fused,but the bottom did not. we went back in and placed hardware right after that x ray revealed the nonfusion. the thing is,i still would not have ever truely known with any certainty that i finally did fuse if it had not been for the spinal cord surgery i had to have a couple years later. it just happened to be in that same level area that they had to go into in the back? so when they removed the back of my c 6-t 1, that is when my new neurosurgeon saw that fusion with his eyes and told me post op that i did finally fuse.
there are alot of people out there that just never really fused but their docs told them they did based upon a ct or mri. the only true way to fully ever know is to actually see it with someones eyes like mine was. but who wants to go that far ya know? this was just a coincidence and gave that opportunity or i would probably still be wondering about it. you just simply cannot always rely on any scan to really show any true area or real picture since it is afterall,only a scan of an area,and NOT an actual kodak moment. but that one positive CT,if i had not actually kept pushing it with my NS,would have been what they went by and i would have been running around without any attachment at one endplate in my neck. in this type of situation,symptoms that you are having just really DO matter,not always a scan ya know? do you feel any bone grinding in that area at all? your symptoms just sound like a possible non fusion. but it could be a host of other possible issues too. but i would most defintiely mention this to your surgeon and also ask about that flex and ext x ray. that really tells much more than any MRI or CT would,it made the total difference in my particular case anyways. you simply NEED to know whether or not things went according to plan or not. that one really cheap little x ray just told SOO much of the real story in my spine. you just need to know what you are actually dealing with with regarRAB to new sudden symptoms showing themselves this far out post op. i do hope everything is actually okay in there and this nerve is trying to wake up and right itself,but you just need to be certain ya know? please keep us posted on things. good luck,Marcia
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