No matter what kind of surgery a person has (even the most minor procedure) comes with a list of possible risks. Those risks range from a simple skin infection to loss of limb and even loss of life. In the case of spinal surgery, there is always, always a risk of something more serious like permanent paralysis or death (which is also very permanent).
Your surgeon is being very conscientious to prepare you by counseling you. Be assured that the risk of new neurologic problems developing is fairly low (around one per cent). That means out of every 100 patients develops damage to the spinal nerve roots, cauda equina, or the spinal cord itself.
It is possible to review a client’s background and case to see who is at greatest risk and why. The “who” question was answered in a recent study reported on by the Scoliosis Research Society Morbidity and Mortality Committee.
This committee of fellowship-trained spine surgeons from many practice settings provided data on over 100,000 cases of spine surgery. The information gathered was analyzed in several different ways to get different perspectives on the problem of neurologic complications associated with spinal surgery.
Types of information collected included patient age, main diagnosis, type of surgery, types of complications, and amount of recovery. The rates of recovery were fairly high (93 per cent partial-to-full recovery) with only 4.7 per cent who had no recovery (permanent partial or complete paralysis).
Anyone requiring a revision (second) surgery was actually at the greatest risk for complications. Children had higher rates of new neurologic problems developing and especially those who required the use of instrumentation (fixation such as metal plates, rods, and screws or pins) to help fuse the spine.
Your surgeon is just doing her job in offering you counsel and education about your condition, its treatment, and the risks involved.