Spinal fusion is a major surgery that joins two spinal bones together to prevent pain due to instability. The surgery might be needed if you have spondylolisthesis, spinal degeneration, a slipped disc, or a severe spinal fracture.
Spinal Fusion Surgery: When Is It Needed and What Are the Risks?
Most causes of back and neck pain can be treated effectively with medication, physical therapies, injections, and other conservative treatments. However, severe, persistent pain that doesn’t respond to less-invasive treatment approaches may require spinal fusion surgery in Kolhapur’s recognized hospital, such as WIINS.
Spinal fusion, as the name suggests, involves joining two spinal bones together so they can heal as a single bone.
Spinal Fusion Surgery: What Is It?
Normally, the vertebrae move in a coordinated and controlled manner. However, spinal injury, degeneration, or other illnesses that affect your spinal stability may cause excessive pain during movement.
In spinal fusion, vertebrae—the bones that form your spinal structure—are fused to bring stability to your spine, reduce pain, or make daily activities smoother and more comfortable.
Once the bones are permanently connected, the excessive painful movement between these bones stops, and your spine becomes stable.
A spine surgeon in Kolhapur places metal rods, screws, and other medical instruments across the space between the bones to hold the two vertebrae together until they heal as a single structure.
Why is Spinal Fusion Needed?
Here’s when spinal fusion may be needed:
Spondylolisthesis
Commonly occurring in the lower back, Spondylolisthesis is when one of the spinal bones slips out of its normal position and presses on the bone below it. This causes back pain. If conservative treatments do not provide sufficient relief, spinal fusion may be the most appropriate treatment.
Spinal Degeneration
With age, your spinal cushioning, i.e., the soft, rubbery tissue between vertebrae, starts wearing down. Not everyone going through spinal degeneration experiences pain, but some may face intense pain during movements, when the bones rub together. Spinal fusion is advised when you have extreme back pain that doesn’t get better with medication or other treatments.
Spinal Injuries
A serious spinal injury can fracture the spinal bone and make it unstable. Spinal fusion can help restore your spine’s stability while managing pain and other symptoms.
Herniated Disc
Spinal fusion isn’t the first-line treatment for slipped disc, but if it causes severe degeneration, recurring episodes of intense pain despite appropriate treatments, or recurrent disc herniation in the same area, a spinal fusion can help. It removes the affected disc and brings the two bones together, limiting their movements.
Risks of Spinal Fusion
Spinal fusion may offer significant relief from pain and spine instability, but like any surgery, it carries certain risks. Before you undergo the surgery, here are some risks to discuss with your doctor.
- Infection at the surgical site, or less commonly deeper in the spinal structure
- Excessive bleeding, which may sometimes require blood transfusion
- Blood clots
- Nerve injury
- Injury to the nearby organs
- Spinal fluid leakage
- Failure of bone fusion (where vertebrae fail to connect and continue to cause pain and spine instability).
You must also understand that the surgery doesn’t guarantee complete pain elimination or no spinal issues in the future.
