Spinal fusion & possible laminectomy recommended. Pros & cons?

@bobcinem Thank you. My surgery was several years ago and it was a good thing. I got my life back. I do have some physical issues where one side of my chest doesn’t expand as well because of tightness from thoracic outlet syndrome. I still have issues with getting infections that start in my sinuses and move to my lungs. When lungs don’t move well enough, and with having allergies, there can be phlegm accumulating. After surgery, hospitals give out a device for breathing exercises and this is the reason why. Don’t expect the worst, but just be aware as you go through surgery. The time that I really needed pain meds was with my ankle fracture. That was much more painful and a longer more difficult recovery than cervical spine surgery.

Good luck with your procedure and try not to worry too much. I expected it to be awful, but it was a lot easier than my imagination led me to believe.

Thanks!

I am so happy with my surgery and pain management. I can yell from the rooftop. It gives me back my life. My advice is that you should have a bunch of consultations with different orthopedic surgeons. If you don’t trust that you’re with the right person. Because I went through a couple decades of aggravation when I landed on the right orthopedic surgeon I didn’t even wait for him to finish his sentence before I said yes let’s do the surgery! Once you have gone through various systems, various doctors various treatments various pain management issues when you land on the right people, you know it. Get lots of references do lots of work be patient and when you get there to the right person, you’ll know it. Good luck.

Thank you for removing the xrays. I didn't realize they had the personal inf
ormation.

@beancat425 I am scheduled for surgery out of state in a few weeks. My doctor recommended I get a heart scan. I got one this morning. My scores weren't great so now I'm praying my surgery isn't cancelled....plane tickets purchased, hotels paid, surgery scheduled and now I have one month to try to see a cardiologist and get clearance. I don't know your age or health conditions, but you might have a heart scan done so there are no surprises before your surgery.

@ou14mejc Everything is good now. No more arm pain after surgery last year May 2025. I was up and walking same day. Off pain meds in record time too. Still slight numbness on area near incision but no pain. Praying all is or will be as well for you and others.

That's awesome! Those of us going into surgery like to hear these success stories. I suppose numbness and tenderness at the incision site are probably common, since nerves and muscles are cut and disrupted during surgery. Prayers are appreciated and continued prayers for your recovery.

I saw 4 doctors for my back before choosing the 5th one. Each one had a different idea of what to do with my lumbar spine. The 4th said L4-5 right sided laminectomy. So did #5, and he was geographically closer with great recommendations and reviews. 2 weeks after the surgery, I was able to walk with a walker for more than 30 minutes. Before surgery, 5 minutes and the pain was overwhelming. So, that was a real success.
The next year, that disc collapsed and TLIF (fusion) surgery was recommended. I stayed with the same surgeon. Between the time I had the MRI and the surgery, my disc herniated. I was a mess. It took me a year of physical therapy to resolve most, but not all of my pain. The doc had said it could take up to 2 1/2 years. Yikes. Now I'm getting similar pain and he wants to do a laminectomy of L3-4, adjacent to the first and second surgeries.
I sought a second opinion at a different institution with a neurosurgeon who specializes in revision surgery (Surgery following fusion). He ordered more tests. I will get the feedback next week. I think we need to listen to our bodies to figure out, with all the tests, what is really going on. He may suggest another injection. I had an epidural in L3-4 in June and got some relief. But he wants to do a TESI (transforaminal epidural) of L4. I'd rather do that than a third back surgery. It may be good enough. It might not. But I'm willing to try it.