My doctor is recommending that I have a spinal fusion to help relieve my lower back pain. What can I expect from such a surgery?
A lumbar fusion is done to keep a segment of your spine from moving too much and causing pain. To do this, your surgeon adds a bone graft to stabilize the segment where the injured discs are causing the problem. The bone graft grows, effectively blocking movement or motion. The surgery can be done in one segment or more, but the standard is one segment only as research shows that this is likely the most effective.
Recovery from spinal fusion surgery can be slow. Some patients use a back brace for a few weeks or months while others don't. This is generally due to doctor preference. Because recovery is slow, it may not seem right away that your surgery has been effective, so it's important to be patient. Your back pain may not ever disappear completely, but a successful surgery can be a significant reduction in pain and a renewed ability to move about freely.
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