Spinal fusion: Worried about infections

Hi! I had s lumbar fusion L-2 thru L-5 in 2010. It has eased a lot of the pain.
I don't seem to be too stiff. I do have some pain around the SI joint on the right side. I'm getting injections for that & P.T.

I was afraid of the operation at first, but has really helped.

Marcia / ZORONE

Which level? I've discovered first hand a cervical fusion is more risky. Mine was C2 to T2. I will have a long recovery.

Since 2005 i have had 3 cervical fusions once with plates inserted and 3 lumbar also with plate inserted.All i can say is dont expect a complete recovery .It will take a long time.Last surgery was 1 month ago to clean out bone chips and remove scar tissue from previous surgeries.If you can live with the pain your better off because there is no guarentee all your pain will go away.

Please, please go to a good neurosurgeon!
Do your due diligence and really look into the surgeon you choose.
I don’t know where you live but I’m living a nightmare.
I just had my sixth surgery to try to remove all of the hardware. I was fused T10 passed my pelvis.
It’s been a nightmare. I’m disabled and I contracted an antibiotic resistant infection on my spine.
I was on IV antibiotics for a year and developed Cdiff which I’m still on antibiotics.
As a matter of fact I’ve exhausted all antibiotics for Cdiff and IV antibiotics.
Unfortunately, two brackets still remain on my spine because they were too dangerous to remove.
I pray that the infection doesn’t return.
Mayo Clinic, NYU, The University of Miami. Hospitals that are experts.
I made the mistake of trusting two imbeciles who were incredibly negligent.

An 8-level fusion sounds like a lot for one spinal area. You didn't say what areas of the spine will be included? I had eight-levels fused in 2023 - four cervical and four lumbar in two different procedures - the cervical fusions were 12 months ago and lumbar were nine months ago.

1) These are massive decisions! Even if surgery goes perfectly ... recovery is lengthy. Bone growth takes up to a year and the speed of that recovery isn't really impacted by PT or anything else. A year is what you should expect.

2) I found cervical fusions to be much easier to tolerate and recover from. But I read others have different outcomes. The point? Individual stories are interesting and occasionally educational. But everyone is different and your outcomes may/will be different, too.

3) If you're thinking about eight levels of fusion in a row - I would think the end result would be a significant decrease n flexibility in all directions. My two 4-level fusions have resulted in some loss of motion in those two areas...but it's still way better than pre-surgery.

4) Use a neurosurgeon. This is the spine. The best medical facilities will have an ortho in the OR if needed, but a neurosurgeon is best when considering nerve work...

Best of luck. Massive decision with no clear-cut way to get to the perfect answer for your situation because there are too many individual variables. In fact, there can be no clear-cut answer.

@kkyzar get a second opinion to be certain of first docs plan. Your spouse will need to weigh the pain vs. eventually less pain (no guarantees) or no pain. If and when he does have it, once he gets a home PT program (HEP) be sure to follow it and never stop it. Once I got back to work I was not diligent enough with mine and am now paying the price and my surgery was 34 years ago. Keeping limber and maintaining core strength is what is needed for success.

I've had three back surgeries: first a laminectomy at L3, then a fusion of L2-L3, later a fusion of L3-L5 with the hardware at L2-L3 removed. Now I have pain at L5-S1 and on the R S-I joint. Steroid injections no longer help.
My only suggestion would be to find the absolutely best neurosurgeon possible and get a second opinion and maybe a third. Fusions are something that is permanent. Once fused, you are fused. And stay in a program of PT, do the PT after the surgery, learn the strengthening exercises, get to a reasonable weight, and keep up the exercises and maintain the optimal weight. I've had trouble with both maintaining the exercise and the optimal weight, and now I've got long-COVID on top of everything else making exercise and the shopping and cooking very difficult for weight loss. Age 83 and a fixed income limit the amount I have available for having someone else do the cooking and shopping. So it is one day at a time.