kadinka8
01-29-2008, 11:20 AM
Hi, all. Dh is having levels C3-C7 fused tomorrow. Any idea how long that surgery usually lasts on the average? He swears he'll be out and about by Saturday. I'm thinking that's pushing it. What do you all think?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Sponsor
Backinthesaddle
01-29-2008, 12:53 PM
Depends on the person and the doctor. My C4/5 fusion took 32 min and It took about 3 hours start to finish. I had no problems with recovery and basically continued my life. I had a 9mo at the time and lifted him and did all that stuff. I never had to wear a collar. I wore only a hard collar when I drove and that was just to protect the neck. My doctor gave a 20lb restriction and I think I drove in a couple days.
I was out of work though for almost a year due to the spinal cord compression and therapy and such. But have another one in a month or so and plan to be out about 2 weeks and then back to work. This surgery is for a nerve being compressed.
I was out of work though for almost a year due to the spinal cord compression and therapy and such. But have another one in a month or so and plan to be out about 2 weeks and then back to work. This surgery is for a nerve being compressed.
neckpatient
01-29-2008, 01:49 PM
Hi - that is a lot of levels to have fused at once. It does depend on the person. The surgery will probably be around 2-4 hours. I had a 3 level that took about 3.5 hours. A 1-3 day stay in hospital - hopefully on the shorter side.
Yes dh will be up and about, but probably first week needing pretty good dose of pain meds and rest. It is unrealistic to think everything will be normal in a few days.
Encourage him to start slow and build up, give the body time to get healing and fusing.
Check back in after and let us know how it went.
Yes dh will be up and about, but probably first week needing pretty good dose of pain meds and rest. It is unrealistic to think everything will be normal in a few days.
Encourage him to start slow and build up, give the body time to get healing and fusing.
Check back in after and let us know how it went.
Jayelsea
01-30-2008, 04:40 PM
kadinka8, I truly hope all goes well with your DH but please remind him that this is a huge surgery. I can only speak from my own experience here but those 1st few days you do feel pretty good, then again that tends to have A LOT to do w/ the meds. I just had ACDF of C4,5 & 6 on Dec 19th. Though everyone says I had fun at Christmas LOL i don't remember a lot of it but I do know I was out and about. Now FF to the last few weeks... definite difference in pain and tolerance of movement. It's a very major surgery. I was out the next day after surgery but tried to lay low as much as possible. Once I started lessening my meds I took it day by day. ***good luck to your hubby*** hope all goes well and he has a smooth recovery.
~Jenni
~Jenni
barb101956
02-01-2008, 11:36 AM
hi,
new to this board. I'll be having ACDF soon and wondered about hipbone graft and how that affects osteoporosis?
new to this board. I'll be having ACDF soon and wondered about hipbone graft and how that affects osteoporosis?
kadinka8
02-06-2008, 01:00 PM
Thank you all for the kind thoughts and words of encouragement! Dh's surgery lasted 4 hours which was a bit longer than the neuro expected. He was lucky to have two neurologists working on him otherwise I think it would have been longer.
Apparently his neck was in 'horrible' shape with compressed disks at all levels and as they worked on each level, they encountered a bunch of bone spurs. The part that made it a bit challenging was that the nerves on the left side of his neck didn't run up and down but were basically all over the place. I'd have to get the report to try to understand what all was done. I'm sure this is familiar to you all!
Dh spent one night in the hospital. Medicare (part A) only covers inpatient hospital stays and considers this an outpatient procedure?! I can't remember how that was explained.
Anyhow, as you all suggested, he is taking it easy. The pain was the worst two and three days after the surgery. Today doesn't seem to be a good day for him, either, but maybe it's because of the rain. That makes his back and knees hurt, too. I think the collar is getting to him, also. He has a soft collar to sleep in and a hard collar for when he's up. Two more weeks to go with that. He loves his showers, tho!
Again, thanks. I'm certain I'll be back with more questions. If you can think of anything else you can add, I'd love to hear from you!
Apparently his neck was in 'horrible' shape with compressed disks at all levels and as they worked on each level, they encountered a bunch of bone spurs. The part that made it a bit challenging was that the nerves on the left side of his neck didn't run up and down but were basically all over the place. I'd have to get the report to try to understand what all was done. I'm sure this is familiar to you all!
Dh spent one night in the hospital. Medicare (part A) only covers inpatient hospital stays and considers this an outpatient procedure?! I can't remember how that was explained.
Anyhow, as you all suggested, he is taking it easy. The pain was the worst two and three days after the surgery. Today doesn't seem to be a good day for him, either, but maybe it's because of the rain. That makes his back and knees hurt, too. I think the collar is getting to him, also. He has a soft collar to sleep in and a hard collar for when he's up. Two more weeks to go with that. He loves his showers, tho!
Again, thanks. I'm certain I'll be back with more questions. If you can think of anything else you can add, I'd love to hear from you!
kadinka8
02-06-2008, 01:04 PM
Oh, and Barb? Dh didn't have a hip graft for his lumbar fusion or his cervical fusion. His neuro prefers to use cadaver bone. I hope you get an answer to your question soon! Good luck!