Hi
I wondered if anyone has had an anterior lumbar fusion at L4/5?
I'm on the waiting list at the RNOH london and should hopefully be done in the next couple of months.
I am interested in finding out what to expect and what recovery will be like
Thank you x
Hi there, I have had anterior fusion c4c5 on neck 2013 I got no relief pain, bladder and bowel dysfunction , I have just been back and told c3 needs doing and c6c7 are showing changes I came away to think about it and now decided to go for it , trouble is when they do fusion it puts extra pressure on the ones either side, good luck
Yes they told me about the pressure on the discs either side. These aren't in great shape either especially L5/S1 which has almost nothing left but they won't do 3 levels .
By doing L 4/5 I have a good chance of reducing the leg pain so fingers crossed.
They are doing it through my stomach partly because they have been through the back 3 times now because of complications from a discectomy and there is a lot of scar tissue.
How long did it take you to recover from your neck fusion?
I've also been diagnosed with hypermobility and possibly HEDS as I have a lot of other issues that fit with this.
Hi megnstan. I’m in my 3rd month of recovery from neurosurgery’s posterior instrumented fusion + foraminotomy (for impinged nerve root) L4/5. This is my first “open” spine surgery, although i have had a series of successful bilateral cervical & lumbar facet joint denervation ops since 1998. your anterior op will be diff but somewhat similar, as i understand it...but you are already very spine surgery-experienced!
Some background: I’m 65 & born with hEDS (giving me lots of musculoskeletal + GI tract hassles constantly) + infant onset systemic lupus + an early onset bone marrow immunodeficiency disease. I also had 2 falls from height in my childhood that damaged my cervical & lumbar spine. I also have early onset osteoporosis, with 3 grade 2 lumbar fractures (L1,2,5)
I managed all this more or less ok via self-help lifestyle techniques inc body therapies until my 50s, by which time the systemic diseases had caused enough progressive multisystem damage to make for so much progressive debilitation that i had to go into tertiary care and onto mega meds (not analgesics cause am allergic to these, but i do v well on steroids, DMARDs, IVIG etc thanks to immunology & rheumatology & gastroenterology at my univ hosp)
So: i was on ward for 3 nights, until i could walk (i was v wobbly for the first week). I was & still am thrilled that i immediately felt well stabilised down there -with no need of the rigid lumbo-sacral brace i’d been wearing for 2+ years.
my wound healed well within 2 weeks. I was driving a tiny bit locally within 2 months.
Generally post op pain has been worse than i could ever have imagined (even after a lifetime of mega chronic multisystem pain) but my medics inc physios are amazed i have done so well without any prescrip analgesics...i just take my lupus meds + IVIG + max paracetamol. But shingles did flare 5 weeks ago, which is a mega drag.
Right now the shingles is finally settling down on the 5th week of antivirals...and i should be doing physio mobilisation exercises, but when i tried to start these up under my hEDS-expert senior physio, something in the L4/5/sacral region turned into a focal pain point, so am currently trying to ‘get the measure’ of this. The neurosurg chief did warn me my comorbidities + age mean a min 12 months recovery from this op...and that the op couldn’t fix everything in the mix causing probs in my lower spine area. So, i’m cautiously satisfied with how this has been & is going
I hope something in there can be useful to you. Please let us know how things go
🍀❤️🍀❤️🍀❤️ Coco
PS neurosurg booked me for cervical double discectomy & fusion back in 1998, but i checkered out at the last minute...so am feeling for longsider!
Thanks barnclown, first op did nothing after being misdiagnosed for ,20 yrs but unfortunately it is c3 which as I call it going up the ladder , but I have nothing to lose my legs feel crap, so I will ring up today to tell them I will go ahead with it x.
As much as another can, i feel i understand...Good luck 🍀❤️🍀❤️
I had it done 5 years ago. Went well. No complications. Lost some mobility, but I had rods put in my back 35 years ago for scoliosis, so I'm used to that! Get sore sometimes, but I'm also 57 and I think that is pretty common. I'm a teacher, took 6 weeks off, then went back to work. Don't really have the agility I once had with respect to working out, but can do most things. I'm more careful about lifting heavy things. I actually had L4/L5/S1 done. Good luck!
That's good to know there are successes with fusions as there are a lot of horror stories.
I work in a primary school with ASD children mainly but had to cut my hours a lot and I'd love to do more as I love my job.
Hi there,
Had my third back surgery end of June l4/5 fusion this time. First week was horrible, hard to pull up in bed...but then things calmed down. I am now doing great and go back to school next week-two months after fusion.
Good luck to you.
Hi fulltime, although for last couple of years I’ve been offered fusion surgery at L5S1 due to a recurring prolapse (after 1 year following a very successful emergency discectomy), my pain management dr and surgeon are really trying to put me off having it, I’m so confused as to what’s ultimately best for me. I’ve now had chronic pain for 6 years and took all the injections they offered me and it’s true to say none really helped except for one day’s relief, completely pain free from the local anaesthetic given each time. I have been left since 2012 with permanent damage to muscles and nerves in calf, side/top of that foot and bad ankle now and have 24/7 fasiculations and muscle spasms and cramp in that left leg, it’s miserable, I still can’t point my toes due to getting instant painful spasm. I’m so 50/50 about this op so I myself have kept delaying a decision every three months, I’ve now an open appointment for 6 months, question is do I go for it? Something keeps stopping me, certainly the recovery time worries me and the fact I could be worse, my pain management dr told the surgeon he doesn’t think I should have it so they called me in and basically agreed with him.
As you mentioned returning to school can I ask if you are a student or teacher as I wondered what your age was? I’m 58 if I don’t have it done now I’m only going to get older and recovery become longer possibly. I suffer with half bending, when my grandchildren were babies I so struggled with them, I’ve two other children who I’d like to think will have children of their own, I know I would struggle to look after them with all that entails. So, would you recommend a fusion to me or indeed anyone facing the dilemma or do I listen to pain management and surgeon, don’t really know what to do next. Thank you, hope your return to school went well.
Kay
Did they say why they think it's a bad idea?
I have tried everything too, the only injections that helped a few weeks were nerve blocks and I think that's why they will try a fusion in that area in my case.
The consultant I've seen wont do a fusion if they arent sure where the pain is coming from.
He said he cant guarantee how much relief I'll get for the back pain but thinks I'll have a good chance at getting less leg pain once the L5 nerve is decompressed.
I know I have other things going on at other levels which cause back pain but getting rid of the nerve pain would be a big help.
I'm 50 and I feel like you that I dont want to leave it too long as at the moment I'm pretty healthy and I hope recovery will be easier now than in say 10 years.
I know there's no guarantee and I know about all the complications that may happen and that it may mean the adjacent levels may get worse but if I can get a decent amount of time with less pain I think it's worth a try.
I don't think they would do it if they didnt think it would help.
I'm still waiting for a date so I cant say how it has gone yet.
I wish you luck it's a hard decision I know, I got a 2nd opinion and I'm travelling quite a long way to london to have it done, hopefully they know what they are doing .
I hope you will have the very best of care and truly hope for a successful outcome for you, it’s such a dilemma trying to make the right decision, but you’ll never know unless you try. Being offered the chance now on the NHS may not be an option in the not too distant future, best wishes x
Hi there l had a decompression about 8years ago which was not successful, it was removed and I then had a spinal fusion on my lower back,but l still suffer with severe back and leg pain the recovery was about 4 months if l had known that it would not improve like l was hoping l would not have gone through with it
You do realise that in London I think it may be guys i'm not 100% there is an Asian surgeon that can replace your disc's with a mechanical one . This surgeon gets fantastic results you do not lose any mobility as the new disc behaves like your own . I had a three level fusion including s1 I did go in for two levels but the surgeon said s1was so bad he decided to do it . I was quite bad with my spine before surgery suffered since 85 after a freak accident and then worked in construction and climbing untill 2003 I had become so I'll had little choice . I guess what I'm trying to get across is I was quite rough anyway before op not sure how you are. My surgery didn't go well for me by that I mean result and aftercare . I ended up in a worse situation afterwards . I won't go into all the detail I think I mention it in other post's of mine if you want to read them . What I would say is make sure you have asked all the questions you need to ask find out how much success your surgeon has from his type of surgery personally as you are in London I would research other types of surgery and surgeons . My surgery was nearly nine hours using over six units of blood my recovery was a good 12 months and at that time in my life I was very fit . I do not wish to worry you in any way but it is a huge decision just make sure you are as informed as possible . I wish you all the best hope everything goes without a hitch for you whatever you decide good luck . Neil
Thank you , I know it's a big decision and I know it's a long recovery and nothing is guaranteed.
I did ask about an artificial disc both in london and Southampton which was where I had previous surgery.
They all had pretty much the same answer, my disc space has collapsed too far to be able to do it and although they have used them in the past they found they found they dont last very long and as I'm 50 I'd have to have it replaced or fused at a later date.
He said the technology for backs isn't quite there yet and not as good as artificial hips or knees but they are working on it for the future.
So they arent putting in artificial discs like they used to. But anyway in my case I couldnt have it anyway.
I picked the royal national orthopaedic hospital as i thought that might give me a better chance and I lost confidence in Southampton after the mess they made and care was a bit lacking.
I'm on the isle if wight so it's a long trip to london but I'm hoping it will be worth it and they have been very thorough and did a lot of scans even a 3d nuclear ct scan at the university hospital London.
They did a nerve block at L4/5 to check for sure that's where the leg pain originates so I'm hopeful that some of the pain may be better.
Thank you for your help Neil I really appreciate it .
I had a lumbar fusion L5S1 four years ago. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. It helped with my lower back pain tremendously. I researched for the best surgeon, I live in Texas. I prayed alot and asked alot of questions. I had to wear a back brace especially fitted for me for three months. My incisions are in the front and back about eight inches long. I had broken vertebrates and spondylothesesis grade 4. My slippage of the vertebrates was severe. The surgeon took bone from my pelvis to use for the new vertebrate he secured with four screws. I was in the hospital for five days, I was there a little longer I believe average time is two nights. I had loss some blood so I received a transfusion. I was up and about walking the night of my surgery to the rest room with walker and support from medical staff. I had to have injections in my stomach to prevent blood clots after coming home for awhile, I can't remember the exact amount of days, my daughter administered them for me. My pain was controlled mostly with pain meds after coming home and everyday I became stronger. It takes awhile for a full recovery they actually say two years. But, after three months I was pretty much doing everything I was before but with alot less pain. I still get some pain if I over do, such as working in flower beds or something that puts strain on my back. But I can just rest and apply heat and it eases the pain. I have psoriatic arthritis so I have had two knee replacements as well and I do deal with pain in other joints neck, hips, feet, hands...
I am so glad I had the lumbar fusion, it helped so much with the pain I had in my back. Research for the best surgeon and Pray, it was amazing how God worked to lead me to the best surgeon. I pray that you will have the best results and you will be living with less pain! 😊
I don't want to put you off but I had this fusion on L4/L5 and you sign the disclaimer when the surgeon says there's on 1 in 100,000 that do go wrong!
Guess what, you got it, I was that one as he nipped the main spinal chor by mistake😩Then as you quite rightly say, the rest of the discs started to crumple (degenerative disc Syndrome) after prolapse but they did put in plastic fibre discs which did the trick until everything else happened but I won't bore you with that now.
What I have found over the many years on this site is that you not alone and it's always good to talk to someone who is also in pain, it actually makes YOU feel better in a way😉 Like you I have had too many back operations and far too much scar tissue, they won't dare to open my back up again.
Good luk and I hope you get the appointment soon as the waiting make it worse. Do let us know how you get on, even if you want to talk about it every day🙉
Derek
Bloody hell Derek, you really have cheered her up , the lass doesn't need to hear that , I think she knows like everyone else there is always a risk in any surgery , im waiting surgery similar to hers and I have no choice , it's that chance they can give you and that's what you go for , this isn't a dig at you as a person but just mix up your words mate.
Yeh guess your right, got carried away as usual it’s the drugs talking🖐🏼
It's ok don't worry, I know things go wrong I had it happen to me too, I have thought really hard about this.
It's good to hear both sides good and bad.
I just have to hope the surgeon who seems sure he can take the pressure of the nerve is right.
I also know it's not going to fix everything but a chance at some pain relief.
You are right about the waiting ,its all I seem to do wait for appointments and they led me to believe I'd be having it done about now but still no date and they've all gone off on holiday now . But at least he will be back in september all rested! With a steady hand I hope!
I just want a better quality of life back so I need to try.
Thank you all for your replies I really appreciate it x
Please God you get it🙏
Hi there, welcome aboard first , if you are in pain what do you take for it, you mentioned incontinence that might happen if you don't have surgery , have you talked to your GP about how you feel , pain is not nice as I can say but you and us have to live with it if it is chronic pain the best we can and you will find good people on here who can help in some way.
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