Connect
Concerned about fusion, have osteoporosis: What are TLIF, ALIF, XLIF?
I have consulted many surgeons because I have serious concerns about having fusion since I have osteoporosis. I found out there are at least four types of fusion and I would like to understand them better and what would be the best for me. Can someone elucidate on TLIF, ALIF and XLIF ?
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Spine Health Support Group.
Connect
Getting nerve blocks re L4,L5,S1
@carolinec
Were your symptoms in your legs? That's where mine are mostly and no one's ever offered me nerve blocks. One pain management doctor at the hospital said it wouldn't help me. But I want to look into it anyway. Did it help with leg pain or did you not have leg pain? Thanks
@kdks99
This is an old thread, but I hope you get this message. I only have leg pain and I don't know if I have instability based on what that means. Also, how would I know where to go in Europe to get surgery if all the surgeons here will do fusion even if I don't really need it ?
@htolan
Please send me the name of the surgeon privately. Thanks
@htolan
Did you have osteoporosis also ? My throbbing is in my calf muscles mainly but now for the past five months I have had increasing pain on the side of my right thigh, maybe that's IT band ?
@annie1
My pain is in my back and then goes down the back of my right leg into my calf.
I have started to use red light infrared red light therapy 3 times a day and am finding that helps.
@annie1 my IT Bands are tight. I use a roller that I got on Amazon and roll my IT Bands. It really helps.
I do have osteoporosis, but some areas of my body are better than others. My spine was pretty good.
@annie1 If you are comfortable using AI you can get a lot of information about international surgery. Surgeon's here are more comfortable with fusion and probably do too many. because of familiarity and reimbursement. If you live near a major teaching hospital you can probably find docs who make more individualized surgical plans.
@kdks99
Actually I live near many major teaching hospitals in New York City and I find the opposite is true they seem to not want to do anything very different all of them are saying fusion except one woman who said I should not have fusion she didn't think it would help me but you didn't have anything else to offer for me except physical therapy that has no effect on my symptoms and she told me to try acupuncture which also had no effect did not help I tried it with several different acupuncture. So I am at a loss for where to go that's why I thought maybe in Europe since they do less fusion that I have no clue as to where to go and what country they would speak English. I was in Spain and had a very rude wake up call that hardly anyone wanted to speak English to me and it was very difficult.
@gently
None of the surgeons I have spoken with have offered artificial disc replacement. They only offer fusion. Today I saw the head of surgery at Mount Sinai in New York and he said he would do a posterior incision only. I don't know if that would include any kind of artificial disc that I can ask him. The other thing that bothers me is that when I asked him about any complications in any of his past surgeries he said he only had one infection years ago and no other complications. I find that hard to believe and I couldn't think of anything to say to that. He's a very gentle, likable man with excellent credentials but do you think I should keep asking him are you sure you've never had any complications at all in any of your fusions?