Spinal Fusion

Spinal Fusion Complications

Spinal fusion complications are surprisingly common, yet it’s big business. So how successful are these surgeries? How long does it take to recover? What are the complications and how often do they actually happen? What is a Spinal Fusion and Why Is It Done? Spinal fusion is a surgery where the surgeon uses bone and/or…read more

Spinal Fusion Is It Worth It? More Research Says No…

A spinal fusion is a surgery that uses hardware and screws to “fix” together two or more vertebrae to make a damaged section of spine immovable. Given that this is a big surgery with many known serious side effects, a patient the other day posed this question: “Spinal fusion is it worth it?” My answer,…read more

Hip Replacement or Back Fusion First? Timing Matters When Considering Risks

One of the clinical scenarios where bone marrow concentrate doesn’t work well is severe hip arthritis. In these cases, we often tell patients to get a hip replacement. However, it’s critical to understand that the body is connected, so for example, getting a back fusion may impact your hip replacement. Before I share the newest…read more

New Research: Low Back Fusion Surgeries Are Ineffective

Low back fusion in medicine is one of those procedures that some doctors have come to hate. Why? While a handful of patients do fine, many become lifelong patients with new problems caused by the procedure. So I have to say that I’m happy that the research has finally caught up to what we see…read more

Pain After Neck Fusion: Adjacent Segment Disease

This past week, I have have seen several patients with neck fusions. All of whom had pain caused by the fusion. For some, the fusion had helped one problem and caused another. For others, the fusion didn’t help and just made things worse. So what’s going on? An Overview of the Spinal Column To understand…read more

Don’t Expect to Toss the Opioids After Spinal Fusion

Most patients I speak to who are contemplating a spinal fusion for low back pain believe that their pain will be solved and that they will be able to stop using narcotics. However, what if that wasn’t remotely true? Would they still sign up for this invasive and potentially dangerous surgical procedure? New research suggests…read more

The Long-Term Side Effects of Spinal Fusion

On this page: The structure of the spine Fusion can cause adjacent segment disease The long-term side effects of spinal fusion The purpose of a spinal fusion is to stop movement. A one-level fusion removes the disc between two vertebrae and uses screws and other hardware to force the two vertebrae together, which then fuse…read more

This Is SO Wrong: Neck Fusion Gone Bad

I have had about enough of my spine-surgery colleagues who perform a single fusion that doesn’t work and then keep digging the proverbial hole deeper and deeper by performing more fusions. Case in point this morning is a poor middle-aged woman with her whole neck fused! Now she’s miserable and has complications related to the…read more