Back Surgery Complications

Back surgery complications are always a risk when undergoing a surgical procedure. The fact that back surgery occurs so close to the actual spinal cord makes it a very delicate procedure. One false move by the surgeon can cause lifelong nerve damage or even paralysis. The risks of back surgery should always be considered carefully before making the decision to have a surgical procedure.

back surgery complications

Local Anesthetics

More and more, back surgeries are being performed under local anesthetic. This means that the patient is awake during the entire procedure. This is a good thing. Local anesthetic has a much lower risk than general anesthetic. Local anesthetic also allows surgeries to be done very close to the spinal cord with less risk of paralysis. The surgeon can actually ask the patient to move their feet during certain procedures, to make sure everything is still ok.

General Anesthetic Risks

General anesthetic means that the patient is asleep during the surgery. Some people have an allergic reaction to some anesthetics. In rare occurrences, a patient can go into anaphylactic shock and actually die. General anesthetic can cause problems with the lungs. It can lead to infections of the pulmonary system, and in rare cases, even pneumonia. General anesthetic heightens the risk of a heart attack, stroke or embolism, for those at risk for these serious conditions. Hypertension also presents an elevated risk for those undergoing a procedure under general anesthetic.

Back Surgery Complications / Infection

Infection is a risk with any surgical procedure. The infection can be in the skin or any of the deeper levels of the surgical wound. Any procedure that uses bone grafts from a cadaver, or hardware to reinforce a fusion, will have a greater chance of infection. If an infection enters the spinal canal, the patient could get sick enough to die.

Back Surgery Complications / Spinal Fluid Leaks

During any procedure that is performed near the spinal cord, a dural tear is possible. This is when the membrane surrounding the spinal cord is ruptured. This membrane will leak spinal fluid if it is punctured. Many spinal fluid leaks are noticed and corrected during the actual surgical procedure. Some go unnoticed, but correct themselves. Others may cause serious effects and need to be corrected in a second surgery. If a spinal fluid leak continues, there is a heightened risk of headaches, fluid infection or spinal meningitis.

Back Surgery Complications / Nerve Damage

Spinal nerves are extremely sensitive. One or more can be damaged during any back surgery procedure. The result can be decreased nerve signal to an area of the body served by the damaged nerve. This can affect movement or sensation. In rare cases of autonomic nerve injury, the heart or lungs might be affected. In extreme cases of autonomic nerve injury, the patient can die.

Back Surgery Complications / Paralysis

If a spinal cord injury or infection is caused by a surgery, the patient might become paralyzed. These circumstances are rare, but the risk is still there, especially with procedures that work close to the actual spinal cord.

Back Surgery Complications / Blood Loss

There is always the chance of unexpected bleeding during surgery. In a frontal (anterior) incision, there are many major blood vessels that have to be moved to reach the spine. In an incision through the back (posterior), there are less large blood vessels to deal with. Some surgeries might require a lot of blood loss as a normal part of the procedure. Surgery to correct scoliosis is a good example of this type of procedure. If bleeding continues after the surgery is finished, the patient will feel weak. If the blood loss does not correct itself, a second surgery might be necessary to seal the leak.

Blood Clots

There is an increased risk of developing blood clots with any surgical procedure. The body is fighting the surgery, since it sees it as a wound. The clotting mechanism in the blood is running at full power. This is important to prevent blood loss during the procedure. Unfortunately, this can also cause clots where there is no need. Commonly, this occurs in the lower legs, since the blood is far away from the heart. If a clot forms, there is always the chance of it causing painful symptoms in the lower leg. There is also the chance that it might break loose and travel to the lung or heart. This can be a fatal situation.

Spinal Fusion Concerns

A spinal fusion might not bond well at the operated levels. If the bones do not fuse together, then the operation must be repeated. If hardware (screws, cages, pins) is used to secure a fusion, the bones will have a better chance to grow together. However, sometimes the hardware itself can cause a problem by moving, slipping or breaking. In these cases, a second surgery will be done to correct the problem.

Unsuccessful Operation

A procedure might go well, but not achieve the desired result. Sometimes, the patient still has pain. Occasionally, the pain is even worse after surgery. This is often due to misdiagnosis of the actual condition causing the pain. Failed back surgery syndrome is the name of the condition which affects millions of unfortunate patients whose pain is actually worse after their spinal surgeries.

Recommendation for Back Surgery Complications

I have noticed a trend in the back surgery complications that I have personally witnessed. Recently, I have had the opportunity to interview 8 new patients that have all undergone back surgery for stenosis or herniated disc correction. In almost every case, the patient was not happy with the result of surgery and still had pain. I believe that the result was not good because the diagnosis was not accurate. Sure, the patients did have the physical conditions, but those conditions were obviously not the source of their pain. All the patients had tried a series of conservative treatments that failed to solve their pain problems.

6 of the 8 took my advice to learn more about knowledge therapy. In the 2 months since starting to learn the true cause of their pain, 5 have dramatically improved. These were patients that have undergone years of medical treatments, including surgery, with no positive results. They are now better after 2 months of simply learning. I wish you the best, Robert, Ashish, Mary, Bill and Norma as you continue to recover and improve. I sincerely hope that you will become 100% well soon!

Remember, I did it�You can too!!!

The remaining patient that started knowledge therapy is not having such an easy time. This last patient still thinks that there is a physical problem with her back. She continues to seek out the medical cure that may finally help her after over 20 years of treatment.

Please, consider surgery as a LAST RESORT. If you get a recommendation for surgery from a orthopedic surgeon, don�t be surprised. HE / SHE IS A SURGEON�OPERATE IS WHAT THEY DO !!!

Back surgery complications can be the unfortunate result of any spinal procedure. Spinal surgery is a great medical tool when it is appropriate. Unfortunately, it is often overused or prematurely used, and can cause permanent side effects that can last a lifetime�
Back Surgery Complications to Back Pain Home 6/22/06 Revised 7/8/08