Three Types of Fusion in GENERAL MEDICAL Forum

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Three Types of Fusion

Author	Comment
Elaine2004	Three Types of Fusion	Lead	[-]
Posts: 2777 (06/19/06 23:57:00) Senior Member * Moderator * Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None Everyone is gifted. Some open the package sooner. Remove this ad The typical fusion is a posterolateral fusion where bone is placed in the bony gutters between the transverse processes. This is the commonest fusion done and involves a large amount of muscle dissection. Interbody fusions involve the removal of the whole intervertebral disc and bone chips or cages are placed into the cavity. This is a fusion that is technically more demanding to perform but has a higher fusion rate and, for technical reasons, is more versatile. Facet joint fusions are usually done to supplement interbody fusions and involve the removal of the facet joint capsule and packing the joint with bone graft.
Elaine2004	Re: Three Types of Fusion	#1	[-]
Posts: 2777 (06/20/06 00:09:22) Senior Member * Moderator * Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	My first fusion, L5/S1 was PLIF. Posterior, Lumbar, Interbody Fusion. It consisted of a whole lot more than my second fusion, L4/L5, which was a posterolateral fusion. Everything about that first fusion was a nightmare. The dead arm, the pain, the recovery time etc. Pricewise, they were both about the same. The first surgery, I was in the hospital for three days. They discharged a half walking zombie. I don't even remember much of the trip home, I was so out of it. I definitely wasn't ready to be discharged and I think it was too soon. The second surgery I was in the hospital for six days and had a much better experience. Bad thing about fusions? It puts so much pressure on the disc above or below, that it causes them to blow out. Sometimes we are in so much pain that we decide to take that chance. That is what I did. I still have horrible pain somedays and other days, it is tolerable. All in all, it is better than before surgery. At least it is not as constant as before surgery. I didn't go into it lightly though. It took me 15 years before I took the plunge. If anyone is considering surgery, I can try to help you with questions that you might have. Elaine
Elaine2004	New Surgical Procedure For A Pinched Nerve	#2	[-]
Posts: 2777 (10/29/06 19:02:50) Senior Member * Moderator * Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	CHEYENNE, Wyo. - A woman here was just the third person in the United States to undergo a new surgical procedure for a pinched nerve. MuRa Lara, 65, originally was scheduled to be the first U.S. patient to receive a spinal implant called a coflex, but insurance issues delayed her surgery by several weeks. She received the implant Oct. 18, two weeks after a Loveland, Colo., man received the first implant. "Any back surgery, I have heard, is pretty painful. And this is painful," Lara said a week after her surgery. "But it could have been a heck of a lot worse. I'm up and about, and I still have pain, but I've been very pleased with it." Typically, patients who undergo surgery for a pinched nerve have spinal fusion, in which screws and rods are used to fuse the back in place. The coflex is a U-shaped titanium device that props up the spine to relieve compression. Dr. Kenneth Pettine, who handled Lara's surgery at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colo., said the coflex surgery requires less time on the operating table and can cut recovery time from several months to several weeks. "To be honest with you, it's very frustrating this isn't the standard of care right now in the U.S.," Pettine said. Pettine said coflex devices have been implanted in tens of thousands of patients in Europe, but the procedure still is considered experimental in the United States. Lara's surgery and Pettine's work with the coflex are part of a series of U.S. Food and Drug Administration trials that eventually could lead to the device's widespread use.
Michelle Denise	Re: New Surgical Procedure For A Pinched Nerve	#3	[-]
Posts: 6580 (11/06/06 12:36:27) Senior Member * Moderator * Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	This is some progress Elaine.

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