{"id":118925,"date":"2022-09-15T05:51:10","date_gmt":"2022-09-15T11:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=118925"},"modified":"2022-09-15T07:02:27","modified_gmt":"2022-09-15T13:02:27","slug":"the-elephant-in-the-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2022\/09\/15\/the-elephant-in-the-room\/","title":{"rendered":"The Elephant In The Room"},"content":{"rendered":"

A hard post for me to write. Or even think about.<\/p>\n

Readers know that I’ve had two back surgeries in the last 2 1\/2 years. They’ve helped with some of my symptoms but as I age my lumbar intervertebral discs continue to deteriorate, resulting in serious nerve problems in my legs, feet and hips. Many blog followers know that my back problems have continued to be an issue but it’s a subject that the collective “we” generally don’t talk about. We’ve just been plodding along but I’ve finally reached the point that I can no longer ignore it. Something has to be done.<\/span><\/p>\n

That ‘something’ is another surgery and this one is a doozy.<\/p>\n

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Single-level lumbar fusion – image in public domain<\/em><\/p>\n

I had my pre-op visit with my surgeon yesterday morning in preparation for a five-level spinal fusion that’s scheduled to be done on September 26th. Most spinal fusions, like the one illustrated above, are single-level – meaning that two vertebrae are fused together. But my surgery will fuse all five of my lumbar vertebrae by using rods and screws.<\/p>\n

But ‘hardware’ is only part of what’s involved.<\/p>\n

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Vertebral Anatomy – image in public domain<\/em><\/p>\n

There isn’t much left of my lumbar interverbal discs so what’s there needs to be dug out and replaced with grafting material. The posterior disc material can be reached through a 6″ incision in my back but in order for my surgeon to get at my anterior disc material he’ll need to make another incision on the left side of my lower abdomen. From those two incisions he’ll be able to dig out my disc remnants and pack the intervertebral spaces with grafting material (either synthetic or a mix of synthetic and cadaver).<\/p>\n

Needless to say, this is major surgery and it isn’t without risk. At this point here’s what I know about my recovery.<\/p>\n