Quote from: Suziack on July 17, 2014, 02:46:18 PM
People sometimes have spinal surgery to fuse their vertebrae in order to relieve pain. I've read that it often doesn't help, at all. Spinal surgery has a very long recovery time, with lots of pain, and the risk of permanent paralysis. When all is said and done, the surgeon goes home with a nice fat paycheck, and you go home with cut skin, nerves, muscles and ligaments. If I was living with fair quality of life, I wouldn't let a surgeon anywhere near my spine with a scalpel, and probably wouldn't do so even if I didn't have fair quality of life.
I had a spinal fusion done 10 years ago on three of my thoracic vertebrae. I had 90* thoracic kyphosis that was corrected to 40* (top end of average). It was life-changing; the pain evaporated, and the aesthetic of my spine significantly improved.
However, I can pivot slightly less (not something I ever notice, tbh) and have a very visible scar running down the length of my spine. The procedure involved detaching the muscles and ligaments surrounding that area of the spine, placing bone chips between my vertebrae, and having titanium screwed along the length of my spine. It took three months to even walk at normal speeds, six months to feel normal, and a year to fully recover. The first month was horrible pain and discomfort; I could barely sleep, despite the percosets I was prescribed. I was extremely vulnerable during this time, and a single fall or poor motion had a high chance of being an extreme medical emergency.
Risks of surgery I believe were 10% infection, 5% paralysis, 1% death. I had none of those complications, thankfully, but the muscles surrounding my vertebrae (specifically, around my shoulder blades) are incapable of feeling to this day. At times, they tingle or very slightly burn. On the random plus side, having them touched or massaged feels like heaven.
As others have mentioned, it is a
very,
very serious surgery when the spine is involved. With that said, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
Whatever it is you decide to do, keityp, I wish you the best of luck.