Spinal Fusion Surgery

What is Spinal Fusion Surgery?

Spinal Fusion Surgery

Human beings are vertebrates and the spinal record, that remains within the long vertebral column comprises of one of the most important parts of the nervous system. Sometimes physicians and health care experts join two or more adjacent vertebral bones to form one solid and single bone through a surgery. This surgery is known as spinal fusion surgery of the vertebral column. The other names of the spinal fusion surgery are as follows:

  • Arthrodesis
  • Vertebral Interbody Fusion
  • Anterior Spinal Fusion
  • Posterior Spinal Fusion

Purpose Of Spinal Fusion Surgery

The main purpose of performing a spinal fusion surgery is join the gaps in- between vertebral columns and thus to recover the abnormalities related to the human spinal cord. Though apparently one may feel that this spinal fusion surgery can decrease the mobility between the vertebral bones, but in the long run this surgery is helpful to keep the spinal cord and healthy and prevents the risks of developing any kind of diseases related to the spinal cord that may even make movement and locomotion troublesome. Some such disorders are listed here as follows:

  1. Tumors
  2. Herniated Discs
  3. Spinal Stenosis
  4. Spondylolisthesis
  5. Degenerative Disc Disease
  6. Spine Becomes Curved Shaped- A Condition Known as Scoliosis
  7. Spinal Weakness or Instability Due to Severe Arthritis, Tumors, Or Infections
  8. The Upper Portion of The Spine Becomes Partially Rounded- A Condition Known as Kyphosis
  9. Fractured Vertebrae Responsible for The Instability of The Vertebral Column and Makes a Problem for Normal Movement and Locomotion

Preparation For Spinal Fusion Surgery

Before beginning the process of spinal fusion surgery, the patient should go through a lot of prior preparations and processes to make the treatment and surgery process a success. Some of the most important preparation steps before a spinal fusion surgery are as follows:

  • If you take any over the counter medications or health supplements.
  • If you have a history of any chronic disorders such as common colds, the flu, or herpes.
  • Stop excessive consumption of alcohol or any other drugs, smoking of cigarettes and get rid of improper lifestyle.
  • Your health care expert might advise you to perform the surgery in empty stomach. Only a sip of water in any case can be allowed.
  • Consult with your doctor if you are taking anti- coagulant drugs such as warfarin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), along with aspirin and ibuprofen.
  • Discuss your medical history with the surgeons and health care experts, including the disorders you have in the present day, the types of medications you take, any past history of allergy or any kind of chronic disease you had earlier.

Complications Related to Spinal Fusion Surgery

Spinal fusion surgery is a major surgery and can involve several types of complications and risk factors. Some of the major and the most common complications of spinal fusion surgery are as follows:

  1. Allergies And Infections.
  2. Bleeding And Blood Loss.
  3. Heart Attack Or Stroke During Surgery.
  4. Conditions Of Thrombosis Or Blood Clots.
  5. Respiratory Problems Or Breathing Disorders.
  6. The Power Of Healing Wounds Quickly Is Quite Low.
  7. Allergic Reactions To Anesthetic Medications Or Drugs.

Some of the most severe risks and complications related to spinal fusion surgery are listed here as follows:

  • Excessive pain in the bone graft site.
  • The bone in which the surgery has been performed might catch infections.
  • Blood clots might start occurring in the legs leading to thrombosis, that can cause severe health complications and infections.
  • Mild to severe damage in the spinal nerve that eventually can lead to several other forms of infections, such as extreme tiredness or fatigue, severe pain, improper bowel movements or bladder problems. This spinal nerve damage can cause excessive stress on the other surrounding bones too.

Spinal fusion surgery may lead to blood clot or thrombosis. At times, thrombosis might become severe and can result into lethal health conditions. Following are the most important health symptoms that will let you know that thrombosis is becoming a fatal condition in your body. If you experience the following symptoms, then it is highly advisable that you should consult your surgeon and health care experts as soon as possible:

  1. Breathing Problems and Shortness Of Breath.
  2. Redness Along With A Tenderness Above Or Below The Knee.
  3. Redness And Swellings Occur on The Either Side Of The Surgical Areas.
  4. Fever Or Chills With High Body Temperature Over 100 Degrees Accompanied By Shaking.
  5. Mild To Severe Bleeding, Along with A Discharge Of Pus, Or Other Liquid From The Wound.
  6. Mild To Severe Pain In The Calf Muscles And Groin, Along With Unexplained Swelling Of The Calf, Feet, Ankles.

Causes Of Spinal Fusion Surgery

The main reason behind performing a spinal fusion surgery is performed to decompress the spine by merging the two vertebral bones into one solid piece of bone. The other reasons for performing a spinal fusion surgery are as follows:

  1. Trauma
  2. Stenosis
  3. Spinal tumors
  4. Disc herniation
  5. Degenerative disc disease
  6. Increased motion or stress
  7. Thickened ligaments or bone growth (osteophytes)

Types Of Spinal Fusion Surgery

There are three basic types of spinal fusion. The classification of spinal fusion largely depends on the type of method used for the surgery and the bones that are fused during the surgery. The three basic types of spinal fusion surgery are listed here as follows:

  • Cervical fusion: Vertebral bone in the neck region.
  • Thoracic fusion: Vertebral bone in the mid-back portion.
  • Lumbar fusion: Vertebral bone in the lower back area.

Methods of Performing Spinal Fusion Surgery in India

Spinal fusion surgery is a surgery that is performed in India and many patients have successfully healed after the surgery. This type of spinal surgery in India requires a prior numbness that is made using a technique known as general anesthesia and then the surgery is done by an orthopedic and a neurological surgeon.

There are certain specific steps and methods that are followed for a successful spinal fusion surgery. When you are going for a spinal fusion surgery your concerned physician and health care expert will prescribe you any of these methods. Some of those methods are as follows:

Cost Of Spinal Fusion Surgery in India

The cost of performing spinal fusion surgery in India differs from one state to another and depends upon several other factors, such as the severity of the disease, how the surgery is performed, which method is followed while performing the surgery, the package selected for the spinal fusion surgery, the experience and rate of the surgeon, and so on. On an average, the cost of performing spinal fusion surgery in India starts from 5000 US Dollars or 3, 67, 000 INR and can reach up to a maximum range of 7,000 US Dollars.

FAQs

The time taken to recover after a spinal fusion surgery will largely depend on how much fusion you actually had and also the extent of surgery. But generally, it will take you around 2-3 hours after the surgery and might last for 4 to 6 weeks.

The success rate of spinal fusion surgery is almost around 70 to 80 percent.

Staying in a medium- budget hotel in India may cost you around 35 to 55 US Dollars per day.

A person can definitely stand and move properly after a spinal fusion surgery.

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