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Back Pain and Spinal Hardware...

IGBT

IGBT

Lifer
I know of two cases where Spinal hardware used to keep the spine stable while you heal from surgery...was left in place for years. The recipients have Degenerative Disk Disease and also had fusing done on the spine. I thought spinal hardware is just temporary and eventually removed. Any thoughts on this? And the long term consequences of leaving the hardware in place. Do the screws and similar require periodic adjustment since the back / spine is a dynamic environment and constantly changing??
 
Wife had spinal fusion (L4 - L5) probably 18 years ago. She has all the screws and rods plus the bone graft (from her hip) as part of the procedure.

That's a one and done deal. Her long time consequence... she has virtually zero back pain or problems 15 years later.
 
I had a fusion in 2008 - L5/S1 and they left the hardware in. AFAIK that's common if there are no related issues. Seems to me going back in there if you don't have to is looking for trouble. The body does certain things like grow scar tissue which can be a problem in itself.
 
Does the hardware need to be checked (once a year)..for security? The spine / backbone is a dynamic environment constantly changing...can the screws / pins come loose??
 
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