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Posted 6/20/2015 9:22 AM (GMT -5)
I was wondering how many people on here have had badly failed fusions.And if so,what problems are you experiencing?
Posted 6/20/2015 10:31 AM (GMT -5)
Many and the problems vary depending on the level and number of fusions done. The quickest and most accurate way to get answers for this would be to use the forum search above. That will show you past as well as present posts of all the people who have ever reported here concerning their experience with fusions.
Posted 6/20/2015 1:21 PM (GMT -5)
Cairn, I just read a post of yours to RedDoor & see that you had a 3 level lumbar fusion that you said failed. Do you mean the fusion did not take & failed or were you left with what is called failed back syndrome which resulted in chronic pain as a result of your surgery? There is a difference between the two issues.

Are you under the care of a neurosurgeon or a pain mgt dr? The reason I ask is has any of your drs ever mentioned the possibility of a pain pump to help manage your back pain? If not this may be something to consider if your pain cannot be managed well enough with oral pain medication. The medications used in pain pumps is in a concentrated form & much stronger than oral meds & the patient actually ends up on a lower dose of pain meds with a pump.

There is a lot of good information here on pain pumps if you are interested, just use the search feature at the top & type in pain pumps. Medtronics is one of the leading pain pumps mfg. & they have a very user friendly website at Medtronics.com.

Take care.
Posted 6/20/2015 7:38 PM (GMT -5)
Cairn,
They were really worried my C4-7 ACDF would not fuse. So my neurosurgeon kept me in a hard collar for 4 months and I wore a bone fused 4 hours a days for 8 months! I have severe osteoporosis and the neurosurgeon said the screws "went in soft bone". I was quite sure that I would be one of those non fusion people. But the good news is I did fuse! I hope that your doctor will do what is necessary to keep you immobilized until you are fused.

As an FYI, I still have neck and upper back pain and some arm stuff but nothing like before surgery. But at six months I was quite sure I was not fused, I was so miserable! I am at 12 months now and it is better. But I still have to lie down during the day and can't do what I used to do. I have been told by many that we have a new normal, so don't panic, you may be fine, and your pain or whatever may just be part of the healing process.
Posted 6/22/2015 12:26 PM (GMT -5)
Straying,Yes my fusion was a complete failure.A yr after my surgery I went to a highly recommended orthopedic surgeon who did a pet scan and found a mess.Two of my pedicure screws and completely broke of and where lodged in my muscles,not to mention my spine.As far as a fusion,only had a partial.Apparently the cages and screws that were used were to high profile,meaning to large for my spine,ALOT more damage.I came away from that surgery with severe muscle damage and loss,not to mention severe nerve damage which totally weakens leg muscles,bladder and bowel dysfunction.This new doctor has done a second surgery to remove all hardware and remove the screws.He cleaned up with the laser,and told me my muscles were like raw Hamburg.What's next,upper lumbar and lower thoracic are herniated
Posted 6/22/2015 2:02 PM (GMT -5)
Cairn when they first came out with the pedicle (?)screws they had a lot of problems with them. There wasa lot of lawsuits filed against the mfg.. They did just what yours did, breaking off or they would become bent. In my opinion, strictly from observing our clients & various types of spine surgery over the years there was a much better success rate of fusions done the old style using a patients own bone or cadaver bone rather than using hardware. When they started using all of this metal thats when we started seeing our clients having lot of problems from chronic pain to failed fusions. They hope that the body will not reject the metal & I think this where there is a big problem, the body knows that metal was not there originally. Hopefully, you will be able to just maintain at this point & no more surgeries, you been through a lot.

Take care.
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