An accomplished spine surgeon, Dr. Jamie Gottlieb works at Orthopedic Specialists North Texas in Denton, TX. Dr. Jamie Gottlieb is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery. He has written extensively on lumbar spinal fusion surgery.
While spinal fusion surgery has successfully made it possible for the majority of patients to resume their normal activities and lifestyle after a traumatic or atraumatic spine injury, different factors play important roles in how quickly patients recover from the surgery.
Spinal fusion surgery involves placing a bone graft in between two adjacent vertebral bones to facilitate bone growth which comes to completion when the graft material and surrounding vertebral bones fuse together to appear like a single bone. This process may take up to 6 months. During recovery, it is critical that the operated area is left in place by avoiding or minimizing activities that require movement in the area which is why some patients wear braces.
On average, patients return home from the hospital or health care facility where the surgery is performed around 2 to 4 days after the surgery is done. How quickly a patient can resume activity depends on the level of physical effort the activity requires. For instance, less strenuous activities like driving and an office or sedentary job can be resumed safely a couple of weeks after the surgery (typically about 4 to 6 weeks).
If the fusion is performed on a single level in the spine, recovery is always faster in contrast to those that involve more than 2 vertebrae which may require extra weeks. Single-level lumbar fusion surgery recipients can return to all activities (including vigorous ones) 6 months after surgery.
Depression, smoking, obesity, osteoporosis, chronic illness, and long-standing opioid use before surgery can prolong recovery.
While spinal fusion surgery has successfully made it possible for the majority of patients to resume their normal activities and lifestyle after a traumatic or atraumatic spine injury, different factors play important roles in how quickly patients recover from the surgery.
Spinal fusion surgery involves placing a bone graft in between two adjacent vertebral bones to facilitate bone growth which comes to completion when the graft material and surrounding vertebral bones fuse together to appear like a single bone. This process may take up to 6 months. During recovery, it is critical that the operated area is left in place by avoiding or minimizing activities that require movement in the area which is why some patients wear braces.
On average, patients return home from the hospital or health care facility where the surgery is performed around 2 to 4 days after the surgery is done. How quickly a patient can resume activity depends on the level of physical effort the activity requires. For instance, less strenuous activities like driving and an office or sedentary job can be resumed safely a couple of weeks after the surgery (typically about 4 to 6 weeks).
If the fusion is performed on a single level in the spine, recovery is always faster in contrast to those that involve more than 2 vertebrae which may require extra weeks. Single-level lumbar fusion surgery recipients can return to all activities (including vigorous ones) 6 months after surgery.
Depression, smoking, obesity, osteoporosis, chronic illness, and long-standing opioid use before surgery can prolong recovery.
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