Spinal Fusion Problems

Contributor

By Keri Honea
eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating: (0 Ratings)

A spinal fusion is a surgical procedure that combines at least two individual vertebrae of the spine. It's primarily used to alleviate severe pain by immobilizing the vertebrae to help with conditions such as degenerative disc disease, herniated discs, spondylosis and fractured vertebrae.

How to Heal from Back Surgery
Recovery from any surgery may be difficult and painful, but after back surgery, healing may seem like a di… More
Back Pain Causes
How a back can be strained, including activities and causes; learn this and more in this free series of he… More
What Is Scoliosis Surgery?
Scoliosis is a disorder in which the spine, which is normally straight, has one or more lateral curves. Th… More
What to Do if Back Pain Continues
If your back pain continues, what should you do and where should you turn for help? Learn this and more in… More
How to Treat Back Pain
Back pain can be caused by allergies, digestive problems, dehydration, emotional stress or injury. Determi… More
How to Return Home After Surgery
Surgery of any kind is painful and in some way immobilizing. Planning ahead for when you return home after… More
How to Survive a Hospital Stay
When you are admitted into the hospital, you may be overloaded with information that is coming at you in e… More
Spinal Fusion Problems
A spinal fusion is a surgical procedure that combines at least two individual vertebrae of the spine. It's… More
How to Recover From Spinal Fusion
A spinal fusion is a back surgery to help treat degenerative disc disease, spinal disc herniation, a spina… More
About Spinal Surgeons
Spinal surgeons can have board certified specialties in either orthopedic surgery or neurosurgery. These s… More
How to Mentally Prepare for a Triple Spinal Fusion
When you have severe back pain that does not respond to more conservative approaches, you may need to have… More
Postlumbar Laminectomy Syndrome
Postlumbar laminectomy syndrome is a painful condition that occurs as a result of a laminectomy procedure.… More
What is Spinal Decompression?
Spinal decompression is a procedure used to alleviate certain types of back and neck pain. There are two m… More
Bulging Disc Treatment
Bulging discs, especially in the lumbar (or low back) region can be painful and frequently debilitating. … More
About Degenerative Cervical Disc Disease
Degenerative cervical disk disease is a chronic and painful condition that can affect mobility and functio… More

Fusion Failure

One of the desired results from fusion surgery is to stimulate bone growth between the vertebrae to effectively fuse the two bones together. It is possible that the bone will not grow and the vertebral segments will not fuse, which results in a failed surgery and additional treatment.

Problems With Adjacent Vertebrae and Discs

Because one segment is now immobile, the discs and vertebrae in close proximity to the fusion will experience extra pressure and start to degenerate more rapidly.

Smoking Risks

Since smoking hinders new bone growth, smokers have an increased risk of 500 percent of a spinal fusion failure.

Nerve Damage

Because the surgery involves the spinal cord, there is a slight risk of damage to the spinal cord or its branching nerves. There is also the risk of the additional bone growth damaging these nerves.

Other Surgical Complications

In addition to these complications and risks, spinal fusion surgery also has the same risk of complications from having surgery in general, including incision pain, blood clots, pulmonary embolism, surface infection, bone infection and blood loss.