Well, I hate posting yet another negative thread about fusions, but I feel it's more important to let people know all that facts that can happen.
I had a L1S5 fusion on April 2nd. A week after I went to get the staples out. Doc said things looked little red at the incision, so he was just going to take half of them out then I could come back 4 days and see how things were. I came back and had the rest of the staples removed, which turned out being very painful because an infection was forming. They gave me Cephalexin and said to come back in a week. Well, after that week I went back and the incision looked horrible. They cleaned it out massively with peroxide, not fun, and said we will re-evaluate 1 more week. Go back, and knew it would be bad because the incision was horribly red and oozing puss like crazy. Basically looked like (sorry if this grosses anyone out) a slab of rotting meat. Surgery set for May 4. To note, there was nothing I did or didn't do that caused this infection. To my knowledge, this would apply to the docs as well.
The surgery was a excision of the would. Basically they cut 1/4 of an inch all the way around the would and 1/4 of an inch deep. So I have a 3/4+ inch wide wound now put back together with staples. If it doesn't totally close up with the staples, which is a good chance it won't as 3/4_ inch is quite a strech, I'll have to get any open parts "packed". I'll find out in a week about that and describe that process if it's needed. Included was an overnight stay so I could have IV antibiotics. Got home last night.
It's very hard to judge pain right now, becuase the new surgery incision site is very painfull and the back from the original fusion wasn't feeling great anyways.
I am on quite a combo of meds right now. For pain I have Dilaudid and Perocet. If pain gets unbearable I'm to add on an extended release oxycotin. Also was gave Valium for muscle spasm. Have Doc-Q-Lace to take as needed to help with bowel movements especially with all the pain meds I'm on. They were afraid with all I have been through and with all the meds I'm taking that vomiting could be an issue so they also gave me Promethazine to take as needed to prevent that.
All in all, I really do think I am the exception to the rule. Most do not have the complications I have. Then the big question: Would I do it all over again? Well even if the pain I have now is worse than what I had pre-fusion, if I had not had the fusion done I would have eventually been in worse pain than I am now. So yes, I would still do it. I just hope I'm done with operations and hospitals now!
So for anyone reading this and they have questions, please ask away. More importantly, if a fusion is absolutely necessary in your future, after everything I have been through, I still say go for it. The pain I have now is different than the pre-operation pain. While what I am going though is more painful, it's a healing pain which in my mind is a better kind of pain to have.
TwoWorms
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