Wife going in for spinal fusion today

Can someone educate me on what this surgery entails and what it is expecting to fix?

Of course, many many well wishes. Just wonderin' cause I don't know much (read: anything) about it.

Sending out good juju to you and your family.

x2

x2

Spine healing vibes on their way. 

I had three vertabrae fused in 2006 (L3 to S1).  Did an IM in 2007.  It ended three years of chronic pain.

scott 

The surgery removes the disk and replaces it with a bone spacer.  The spacer may be your own bone from your hip, cadaver bone, or a synthetic bone-like material (like coral).  The purpose of the surgery is to relieve pressure on the spinal cord due to herniated disks or spinal stenosis (bone spurs) or to relieve pressure on the nerve root that exits between the vertebra.  The main reason for the surgery is to restore function to limbs that have lost nerve signal due to compression.  Pain, according to my doctor, is a lesser concern for surgery.

You are never quite the same after the surgery since some mobility of the spine is lost.  The effect for one or two levels is not too bad.

I had C5,6 and 7 fused on Jan 3 of this year.  I have some significant loss of strength in the triceps, and muscles supporting the shoulder blade, and some numbness in my index finger.

TW

Sending all the "get well MOJO" I can....

Good luck and a speedy recovery for your better half......

Gotcha. Thank you!

hey how did it go today?

First off, a big thank you for the outpouring of well-wishes and prayers. Much appreciated.

Second, everything went great. The doc (who we semi-call Doofie Houser because he looks like he's 15) said all was well, and that there should be a vast improvement very quickly. The only pain she's having now is the actual incision, and her right arm from being restrained during the surgery.

I'm home for a few minutes, and then I'll be heading back to the hospital to spend the night with her.

Thank you again!

Here's wishing her a speedy recovery.