Risks of Herniated Disc Surgery
The many risks of herniated disc surgery should make every patient think at least twice before undergoing any operation for disc pain. There are so many different procedures and approaches to
herniated disc surgery,
which already shows that doctors often can not agree on the best way to solve many agonizing complaints. Additionally, back surgery is often very invasive and the complications associated with even the least damaging procedures can spell dire consequences for any affected patient. This important treatise will expose the many risks of spinal surgery. We will investigate why so many procedures fail to provide relief and the factors which can cause complications and disappointing results from the most commonly utilized surgical interventions.
General Risks of Herniated Disc Surgery
There are a great number of general risks associated with all forms of back surgery. Obviously, the more invasive the procedure is, the more risk is involved, both during and after the procedure. Here are many of the considerations which should be planned for and discussed with your surgeon prior to undergoing any spinal surgery: * Nerve damage is common and may cause severe and permanent effects. * Spinal fluid leaks are also common, but are usually easily correctable. Some can be problematic and may require follow up surgeries. * Infection can ruin any surgical result and is common for large open procedures. Infection can cause serious health effects and can even be fatal. * Poor surgical results plague the
back pain
industry and the majority of surgeries are simply not successful in the long run.
Failed herniated disc surgery
syndrome is rampant and leads to a progressive downward spiral of disability and pain, often without any solution possible.
Specific Risks of Herniated Disc Surgery
Among the many procedures used to enact
herniated disc relief,
some maintain particular risks and may cause case-specific complications, including:
Discectomy
incurs the highest percentage of recurrences of the original problem of herniation. Many herniated discs corrected with discectomy simply re-herniate, often in a matter of days or weeks.
Artificial disc replacement surgery
may involve hardware failure which can be catastrophic in rare instances. Additionally, extended timeframe studies have not shown how well these disc substitutes will hold up from years of abuse.
Spinal fusion
is the most barbaric of all back surgeries and also creates the greatest risks. Specific risks include hardware failure, fusion failure and extremely accelerated spinal degeneration to surrounding vertebral levels, potentially necessitating subsequent fusion after fusion, every few years or decades.
Risks of Herniated Disc Surgery Advice
I always advise patients to avoid surgery now and forever, whenever possible. If you think your pain is bad now, you might want to consider how much worse it can possibly get if things do not go as planned. I am not talking about a slim chance for failure here. No, I can assure you that the chance for a serious immediate or long-term complication or unsuccessful result is very real. I have received literally thousands of letters from real patients who are dealing with failed back surgery syndrome. It is a real heartbreaker for sure. Be careful and try everything else before even thinking about surgery.
Risks of Herniated Disc Surgery to Herniated Disc
3/17/11 Revised 3/14/12
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