Risks of Spinal Fusion Baltimore MD

Many hundreds of thousands of people have spinal fusion Baltimore MD every year in the United States.  The vast majority receive at least some benefit from the procedure and go on to have good recoveries and an elevated quality of life as a result of their decision to have a surgical intervention.  It is, however, important to keep in mind that spinal fusion surgery Baltimore does carry some risks.  The risk of actual death is relatively small--approximately one quarter of one percent of patients die during the procedure or during the immediate post-operative stay.   Still, there are other risks to consider.

Spinal Fusion Risks During and After Surgery

• Every surgical procedure carries a few risks that can be reduced by a contentious staff, but not completely eliminated.  During the surgical procedure, any patient can have a bad reaction to general anesthetic, even one who has successfully tolerated it in the past.  Excessive blood loss is always a possibility, as is the body's immediate or eventual rejection of any medical hardware that is used.  If an allograft is used (donor bone material from the patient's thigh), there are risks of a bone infection in that surgical site.  Nerve damage is always a consideration when operating on any part of the central nervous system.

• There are a few factors that make certain patients more likely to have complications with this kind of surgery within the first few days of recovery.  Those who are older, obese and/or smokers are the group with the highest rate of post-surgical complications, as are those who have had a previous spinal surgery.  Some of the complications often seen in individuals with these pre-surgical risk factors include neurologic deficit, malnutrition, urinary retention, pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis.

• Some of the risks of spinal fusion continue to be present for quite a long time after the patient is discharged from the hospital.  The most significant of these risks is a clinical failure of the surgery, meaning that the sections of the spine intended to be fused simply do not grow together as expected.  There is some good news about this outcome.  Even patients with an incomplete fusion frequently report diminished pain and improved functioning.