SURGERY

Surgery should be suggested when there is threat of permanent nerve damage from compression by a prolapsed disc; arthritic spurs or displaced bone fragment. Persistent instability which sometimes follows fractures in the spine, may require surgery fusion or internal fixation.

No surgeon can ever guarantee beforehand that a spinal operation will be a complete success. Complications, some serious, can sometimes occur. However, most operations are

successful – otherwise surgeons would not continue doing them. The surgeon should discuss the position with you fully, and should give you some idea of what to expect after the operation. No operation is done without the patient’s consent. Surgeons are unlikely to suggest an operation unless they are sure of your full co-operation at all stages. To a large extent, success will call for your determination to regain strength and get back to normal.

Being successfully operated on does not mean that the spine is now as good as new, and that all previous activities can be resumed – including the ones that caused the original damage.

The spine is a complex structure, and it is seldom that damage such as a disc prolapse happens in isolation. Damage to other structures often occurs and will not be cured by the operation, and may go on causing problems afterwards. A complete recovery following a spinal operation is likeliest when the damage is isolated to a specific tissue, eg disc, and not the culmination of years of gradual deterioration.

If an operation is not a success consider carefully the reasons for a second one.

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