I am scheduled for the XLIF procedue March 4. I was wondering if any of you have had this surgery and how it went for you. I had the PLIF surgery two years ago, and it did not fuse so my surgeon is doing this one.

Also, I take a low dose aspirin. When should I stop taking this? I know most procedures are 7 days, and was wondering if I should get off of it sooner.

Haven't heard of the XLIF to be honest. I would call your doctor about the aspirin. Some want their patients of meds alot longer that you mentioned. So call and ask.

Hi what is a xlif?is that a side job?

eXtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion. Yes, it is the one where they go in from the side. Part of my surgery will still be from the back because they are going to remove my hardware and internal bone growth stimulator from the first surgery.

Hi. I had to look up XLIF since I'd never heard of it. It apparently is done only on one or two levels at a time because only those vertebra that can be reached from the side can be accessed.

I had a TLIF two years ago, one level. Now they're up to X. Hopefully if I ever need another surgery they'll be up to Z. Actually, I like the sound of that -- Z(ero pain) Lumbar Interbody Fusion.

So sorry to hear you didn't fuse and best of luck with the XLIF. Let us know how it goes!

Schragie-girl

Sounds like the same thing as a TLIF. The recovery from fusion surgery will be pretty much the same regardless of the approach. Does your doctor feel that this method will give you a greater chance of fusing? Will your surgeon be using BMP? It's supposed to give a good boost to bone growth. Also a bone growth stimulator might help.

I had a 360 fusion and had a higher risk of non-fusion due to the number of levels they were doing (8 this time around). My doctor said he was going to throw everything at me that he could to give me the best shot at a solid fusion. The 360 method is part of that, and I had the BMP and bone growth stim. I was showing bone growth at only 6 weeks post op, so whatever he did, it worked. I had a good solid fusion at 6 months.

If you smoke, you should stop immediately it will inhibit bone growth. Many doctors won't even do a fusion on a patient who smokes.

I hope you're feeling ready to do this again. You've been there and already know what to expect, so you can get your ducks all in a row. Do you have a good support system at home?

I wish you the best. We'll hope this will be your last back surgery!
Emily

I had a TLIF at L5/S1 about 4 months ago and I couldn't be happier. The surgeron chose this over a PLIF because my nerve had been extremely constricted for a long time and there was a lot of scar tissue to deal with. I think the healing time is similar to a PLIF.

Emily is right... if you smoke you should quit, and stay quit for at least the first three months.

Good Luck! Let us know how it goes!

David

i just had an XLIF procedure on march 5 and am posting this to provide info for people considering this procedure or have had it to compare progress with mine.my surgery was for the L4-L5 disk removal.

i woke up from surgery with severe pain in my left flank which i am told is normal since they had to go through the left PSOA muscle.

the morning after, i was walking but in a crouched position and with much pain.i also noted that my left quad/thigh was absolutely and totally numb...i was told that this does happen with the procedure and it will take a month before i get sensation back.

i was released after the first night in hospital but my walking was limited as the pain persisted and sleeping was hard.i could only sleep on my right side.

i have had a doctor visit and they did take an x-ray.the bone spacer/graft appears to be in solidly and the 2 screws above and below the level which were inserted from the the left side can be seen along the width of the spine.i am told they are solidly in.

it is now march 11, 6 days post surgery, and i can stand a little more upright and can walk a little further than before but i cannot lift my left leg very high (like to get in my pants) without excruciating pain in my back so i have to use my arm to lift my leg.i also have pains in my left hip.i am told that the hip and leg issue arise because of having to go through the psoa muscle and that this will get better over time.

this is where i am to date.