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Who has had successful fusion surgery that has osteoporosis?
Spine Health | Last Active: 4 hours ago | Replies (31)Comment receiving replies
@annie1 I am in the same boat you're in with the stenosis and other degenerative issues, but I also have severe osteoporosis. Fusion at from L4 to S1 apparently is imperative in my case -- I was told by a neurosurgeon yesterday that if I don't have the surgery, I will eventually lose my ability to walk. The surgeon I saw has a track record of dealing with patients with "weakened bones" and uses a bonding cement in the fusions as well as the usual pins and screws. Still, there is no guarantee of success. But in my case, because of a badly slipped disc and an unstable spine (among other issues), it seems my only option. I think you would benefit from talking to a surgeon who has experience with osteoporotic patients. Wishing you the best!
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@bayhorse
Hello well thank you but they all say they know what they're doing with osteoporitic patients none of them are going to admit that it puts me at high risk. At least here in New York. They just say they can do it as long as I'm on the bone building medication and that they're going to use the cement augmented screws. You can't get an answer about how many patients they have had failures with. I had a failure with this one surgeon not with fusion but with just a laminotomy which caused a Pas fracture and made my come back. He said he would do a fusion now with the augmented screws but it took him 2 years to admit that he had caused the Pars fracture. I am struggling because I am in pain but I don't know if I should trust him. I know there's plenty of other surgeons and good ones out there. I'm going to get another dexa scan which he doesn't even require before surgery.