Originally Posted by gabbycakes (Post 731760)

Dear TLIF,

I have not had any spinal fusions but my husband has had 2. The first was not successful but the second with a top NYC surgeon was a walk in the park. And they took every stitch of what the other doctor did apart and did the same thing over just with a different technic. The first surgery was in 2002, then I had an accident and was injuried and put back together over a 4 year period. He meet this top surgeon while I was in the hospital make a long story short in 2006 in had the revision.

As far has his medication it was an issue. When we had the surgery the surgeon was concerned because of all the medication he was on and I think if he did not know us I don't think he would of done the surgery due to my husband's use and it was not abuse it was the amount he was taking. The biggest problem was him being on the Fentenyl patch. As far as his pain when he was in the hospital for 6 days he stayed on his regular meds., and kept him on a morphine pump and then just to his regular meds. and he was fine. The best is that today and since 2009 he is medication free he doesn't even take a Advil. I think in our situation we just wanted a good doctor and to do a surgery that was not going to make him worse. Which is a concern with spine surgery. I don't know what part of the country you live in but he was a patinet at the Hospital for Special Surgery,NYC, Dr. Frank Cammisa, head of spine surgery. The gentlemen is an amazing doctor.

I will say one more thing. When the surgery was over and he was speaking with me the first thing he said was he's fine and you can see him in a 1/2 hour and the second was he has got to get off that medication. Which he did.

Today he gained a little to much weight and is losing it slowly but no back pain and he was misrable for years and overly medicated, it was a mess before the second surgery.

Good Luck

Gabbycakes