Spine Question

Sorry for posting this here but I am new and had no choice, plus desperate for advice! I had a L-3, L-4, L-5 spinal fusion 4 years ago. Implants were rod's, screw's, cages and I had a bone graft. I went to see my surgeon yesterday, it had been a while due to me losing my supposed lifetime workers comp., coverage. My surgeon did a CAT scan and was very alarmed that my L-4, L-5 did NOT fuse or heal and is cracked in half. Of course I am in pain but he said I could live with the increased pain closely monitored or he could do another surgery. Has anyone out there in ATS ever by chance had a failed fusion? I am very scared and in lots of pain now.
Thank you.

PS: This web site helps me forget about the pain with all the reading and such. Also I am in my early 40's.

reply to post by chisisiCoptos


Wow, you and i have had the same operations, mine has not failed in the sense that you are talking about. Mine has failed in the fact that the operation has not really been that helpful to me, but at least i can still walk, morphine 24 hours a day slow release for the last 4 years.

I feel for you, i came to the conclusion after my last 7 hour op that as i am getting on a little now i said to my surgeon no more. The pain must be awful, Did the first 1 fail due to them making a mistake, i thought bone grafts to bone automatically if it is your own bone?that was what they told me anyways.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

I have never heard of 1 failing apart from yours;

My surgery in 2006 took 13 hours. I had an excellent neurosurgeon but he is as baffled as me about this, along with his colleagues? I was fine at every check up and then when my benefits failed I did not see him for two years, almost. The bone graft was taken from my hip. The cages where also packed with bone. They are saying this turnout is next to impossible due to the fact that all the titanium was holding every thing together. Hurts like hell but the morphine does help. I just can't believe that the fusion stopped it's what the hell ever it was supposed to do?

I was scheduled for one and decided against it after the doctor told me how high the chance of failure was. That was several years ago. Im glad I didnt get it.

I'm going to give you the best advice I can after four major spinal surgeries - leave your neurosurgeon behind and get a competent orthopedic surgeon. My first and biggest mistake was going to a neuro for a lower spinal problem - his surgery didn't last a year and they were shoveling me off to pain management specialists who were completely clueless. I don't know how bad your surgery was but it sounds like they threw the kitchen sink in there - I 'm now completely fused from L1-S1 after 3 lami's and other assorted procedures. The only bone graft taken from my hip was for the procedure they did on my neck with titanium and screws. I'm pretty good now, use pain meds only occasionally and I'll stand by my advice that you need a bone man not a brain surgeon - it did work for me.

ganjoa

reply to post by chisisiCoptos


I'm sorry to hear about your health issue and defective surgery.
My L4 and L5 are donated bones that were fused together 32 years ago and I haven't had any problems. It's still tender and painful some days, but is still intact.

Yes, find a good orthopedic surgeon.

Question: Were you in a body cast for any length of time following the surgery?

reply to post by chisisiCoptos


Yes, the only thing i can think of that could possibly have caused a rejection as it were is if you took any anti inflamatries straight after the op for a while?. My doc was the best in europe supposedly, and he went mental when he found the nurses had given me an anti inflam, then he explained thatit could make the op not wok if i kept tqking them, needless to say he had the nurse in tears, i bet she never made that mistake again. I was surprised by what you said, i have some buds form when i was in there last and all that had fusions have been fine.

Youmust be glad for the titanium cage lol, they are good and strong, sometimes they remove them after i believe, i still have mine though thank god.

that is probably all that is saving you right now.

First off, thank you for all of the concern out there! I know after my surgery, I went to a pain clinic and had 7 spinal epidurals for the pain over a year. I did use a 10's unit for a long time and I actually went to full power sometimes all day?

I can describe how it feels right now, I feel like a bone is broken and rubbing against each other. Even with pain medicine, the pain at times is unbearable. Since I just got my CT scan results yesterday, I am going to bring this to my pain management doctor to see if they can do anything better for the pain. The doctor there will freak out when he see's what I have been dealing with. I can't wait to see their reaction when I show them this. It is always good for them to see your pain sometime rather than take your word for it. Sorry to say this again, , I just knew something was wrong with my back, I could really tell a difference at the first of 2011.

I wanted to add to this that this was my original workers comp., surgeon and he told me that if I would not have lost my benefits while I was waiting for my SSI this could have been prevented. The attorney for my previous employer filed a motion in court saying my injuries were not related to my current back problems, which is bull #. Anyway when I lost my WC benefits I could not afford to go. My surgeon told me it was not my fault, this could have been avoided or helped before it was to late as of now. I honestly think he was telling me to hire a lawyer, again!