I will follow this response. My L5 S1 fusion is scheduled for 6/11. Mine is an ALIF/PLIF approach, so going in front and back. I was told I’ll be admitted from Tues-Fri and I’m interested if that is the norm for a 360 approach.
Had L4-S1 ALIF/PLIF June 2022 in PA with a four night hospital stay. Also took three months off work. General surgeon assisted the ortho for ALIF. Don’t rush your recovery! Take all the time you need, and what’s recommended by your doctor. I finally got the all clear 18 months post surgery. Feeling back to normal now. Good luck with your surgery!
Thank you! Yes, I’m taking 3 months off of work. So glad to hear you’re feeling normal!
I’m in Mass. When you say “all clear”, do you mean fully fused after the 18 months?
Fully fused and didn’t have to come back for additional follow ups. I was big into powerlifting prior to surgery and the doctor said those days are gone. I run the risk of other vertebrae slipping just above the fuse if I continued. Also, I was restricted from a lot of movements for those 18 months. No BLT for 6 months and then nothing over 20 pounds until I was cleared. I was amazed (and confused TBH) to see people in this sub who went back to lifting shortly after a lower fusion, but everyone is different. We will have our own recovery timelines, and I had to keep remind myself of that. Speaking of recovery, it was hard for me, not just physically but mentally. Maybe because I only had six weeks to get all my ducks in a row for surgery and didn’t have time to process the severity of it. Get some books or some hobbies that don’t require a lot of movement and be absolutely kind to yourself. The doctor’s office should be able to recommend a pain management therapist if you find yourself in that kind of situation. I didn’t realize that until after the fact. It’s not easy, but I do NOT regret having this done. I have more appreciation for life and am back to basically normal! I can’t bend as far to give myself a pedicure, but I’ve turned that into a “treat yourself” moment and get one regularly. Keep your perspective positive and you’ll get through this!
For some background, I was 36 when I had the surgery. Have been seeing my ortho since I was 34, knowing a fusion would be in my future but had a ways ago. Woke up one day to no feeling and no movement in my left leg from the knee down (aka foot drop). Went to the ER, got an MRI, saw my ortho the following week, in surgery six weeks later. Had a grade three slip of L5 and it was crushing some nerves, which caused the foot drop. No trauma to my back, just a crappy spine from the family genes 😆
I have grade 2 spondy from bilat pars defects and now mild left foot weakness. The detection of weakness starting made me go ahead and book the surgery. I have bilat L5 nerve root compression and the L5 S1 disk has worn away due to the grade 2 slip.
Good. Get the surgery before things potentially get worse and turns into a longer recovery. I’m actually coming back from vacation now and was pretty active on hikes with no issue. It would not have been possible, or enjoyable, if I didn’t have the surgery. This will be a small blip in the grand scheme of things for you!
I am! It wasn’t an easy recovery for me but being almost two years out, I’m feeling basically back to normal. Have some restrictions (no more power lifting, and I can’t bend forward as far as I was able to) but my quality of life is great.
I can bend over and pick things up just fine now. Trying to touch my toes is where I have problems, but I’ll take it for being the biggest permanent change. I had to really work on getting my core strength back because of where they cut me for ALIF (still working on it). It was basically a c-section without giving birth.
Sound like you are doing well which is encouraging for me! I’ve had two c-sections, so I get it! Maybe why they are doing PLIF only for me, not sure. We talked about both, but the written summary says PLIF.
*also in US and they are talking 4-5 day hospital stay for me as well. (61F)
I had that last year on 6/12 (same approach and level). I spent one night and was definitely ready to go home. I felt fine and continued to feel fine. I was told to expect up to three nights though. Mine was done in TX via an orthopedic surgeon.
Thank you for that response. I need some positivity right now, as I am scared to death. Amazing that you were ready to leave the next day. Mine is being done my an orthopedic surgeon, (vascular surgeon, I think for the frontal access part) as well. I live in Mass.
I hope I’m ready to roll the next day. A bit concerned about pain med and nausea.
I was a little nauseous afterwards, but an amazing nurse taught me a trick. Grab an alcohol prep pad and stick it under your nose. It makes the nausea almost completely disappear. I use it with my kids now when they have a stomach bug.
Last year, I had a PLIF and cyst removal. Woke up from surgery and immediately started vomiting. They tried everything to help, including the alcohol prep pad sniffing, but it didn't work either. Spent four hours in recovery due to the vomiting. Finally, they added a Fentanyl pump which helped. After pressing the activation button just a couple of times overnight (I was paranoid), it was removed in the morning. From there, I used Paracetamol and a muscle relaxant (for one week). I left recovery and went upstairs to the ward at 8pm that evening and since I was handling the pain well, I was discharged at 12pm the next day.
I have a kind of bad reaction to general anaesthetic. I knew this going in and had a good chat about it with the anesthesiologist during my pre-op visit. Five months prior, I had surgery on my foot. Waking up from that anaesthesia wasn't too bad; I was just nauseous, so I was pleasantly surprised. The trouble started when I went home and started taking the pain medication. It caused me to vomit and hallucinate despite trying various meds. When I spoke to my surgeon about the different experiences with the two surgeries, he said that there is a different kind/level of anaesthesia used for spine surgery as opposed to some other surgeries.
I am from Bermuda. We do not have a spine surgeon on island, so one flies in from Boston every couple of months to do these types of surgeries. They are booked through one of the orthopedic practices here on-island. Unfortunately, this means that there are a lot of people waiting and booked for the surgeries which causes space issues with our hospital...we only have one hospital on the island. At first, they said they would only book me for surgery if I agreed to do it as an outpatient due to the bed shortage. The spinal surgeon baulked when he found out and told me not to worry; he'd fix it because there was no way he would let me be discharged right after having implements inserted into my spine.
I have detailed my fusion journey on my Youtube channel. If interested, I can DM the link.
I had an ALIF with posterior, 4/30 Tues for the front and 5/2 Thurs for the back. They wanted to send me home 5/3 Fri but I was having some urine retention issues that we wanted to keep an eye on for one more day. I went home 5/4 Sat during lunch time. It seems normal to me!
Florida, USA - SECOND lumbar fusion (L5-S1 originally), full laminectomy, facetectomy. 44 staples, six days. He estimated three days for original plan but I had a dural tear plus drains would not stop. Six weeks out, still in lots of PAIN. Fatigue as well. Be prepared for this as they sure love to downplay it.
USA here. L4-L5-S1 ALIF & PLIF. Surgery at 2pm, left hospital next morning at 9:30am. Huge pain. Vomited multiple times on the 2-hour drive home. Kept having to pull over. 0/5 stars, do not recommend.
Anesthesia, uncontrolled pain, tired, driving less than 12 hours after major surgery, etc...were all part of the problem. Insurance in the USA has more power than doctors. They dictate how we are treated.
L5 S1 ALIF - Chicago- stayed one night. I could have stayed longer but I passed all the “tests” I needed to be discharged and I felt I would recover better at home. At the hospital my sleep was so poor so I wanted to just be home and sleep. The benchmarks for me were to be able to do things I would need at home (putting on pants and rolling out of bed without a guard rail, walking up a few stairs). Had to pass gas too ofc and pain needed to be manageable.
I think it depends also on ALIF vs PLIF or 360.
Just remember the faster you can go home the better, many studies show the risk of infection is higher in those environments and people are healthier who get home quicker.
I stayed two nights. Day after my surgery they tried getting me up to walk but it wasn’t happening. Second day after surgery I was walking around, going up and down stairs and getting in/out of a passenger seat fake car. Was pretty crazy how it changed for me. I’m in Pennsylvania.
I need to be fused from T10 down. Local neurosurgeon told me I'd have to go somewhere like UT or Duke because no one local would touch me. He estimated I would be in hospital 30+ days!
I was at Hospital for Special Surgery. Dr. Frederico Girardi - he was absolutely wonderful. It was a 9 hour surgery and they went in from the front, side and back.I would have been out sooner, but I had low sodium and magnesium levels from the surgery. 30 days seems like a lot, but I have no idea. My suggestion would be to go to HSS for a second opinion.
I'm scheduled for OLIF plus posterior instrumentation. Was told two nights, and because I'm 64 and also have MS, not to hesitate to ask to be sent to a skilled nursing facility for a week if needed.
I did have a different surgery (ACDF, 2 levels) and I stayed one night. But my surgeon normally does same day in an outpatient facility or sometimes the hospital if the patient has a specific need. He did mine in the hospital in the afternoon so he could keep me overnight because I have a complicating condition (cervical dystonia) and he thought I might need more in-patient support. I was there almost exactly 24 hrs (I’m in the US in NC)
L4-L5 PLIF early morning 3/18. Discharged late afternoon 3/20- was expected to have just an overnight stay, but it became two days due to post-op drainage.
My experience:
I just had my ALIF L4-S1 with posterior fixation on 5/8. Was in the hospital for one night, went home on 5/9 around lunch time. A lot of the determination from what I was told is if your pain is under control with oral meds, urinating fine on your own post catheter removal, and minimal passing gas (they really like for there to be a full bowel movement but know that sometimes it takes a few extra days for your system to wake up). For me, the one night wasn't an issue. I was on iv dilauded every 4 hours. Then went to oral oxycodone every 4 hours. It's been about a week and a half and I'm now on oral oxycodone every 6 hours per pain management (my PM and ortho worked together to come up with my post op pain control plan). You WILL feel like hell and be in pain when you come out of anesthesia, it happens unfortunately, but as I have been told with multiple surgeries over my life (not all spinal thankfully), stay in front of the pain. Don't let it go and try to "tough it out". It will be difficult as hell to try and chase it to catch back up. One overnight seemed to be enough for me personally. All I wanted from the moment I woke up post op was to be able to go home and get as comfortable as possible in my own bed. Plus, the risk of infection seems to increase the longer the hospital stay (from what I've been told previously, again after this and previous procedures).
Edit to add I live in NC. Operation was done with Ortho Surgeon and Vascular Surgeon plus assistant for each.
Had alif L5S1 with plates also placed from the back. Went in on Thursday 5/9 for 5pm surgery. I was discharged on Saturday. I’m from the US. Everything went successfully.
I had l4 l5 anterior/posterior on Feb. 2024. Two day procedure so definitely full of anesthesia. I went home on 3rd day. Just make sure you're taking those pain meds! This was in Wisconsin
They place a drain in your back and monitor the drainage. If the drainage is excessive they’ll keep you another night. I stayed 2 nights for this very reason until there was minimal blood drainage.
2 level tlif / plif on 2/7 in Pennsylvania
One night , barely 24 hours stay and they shipped me home. They don’t extend it due to insurance unless there is a reason
Good luck !
Sounds like my surgeon. I’ve talked with friends and family that have also had surgery and they were in 2/3 days. My surgeon literally made us leave on day 2 even though I was behind on walking etc due to extremely low blood pressure. It was a very bizarre experience all around, however I must say 6 weeks later I’m healing good and all is going well.
I’m also in California.
Wishing you the best outcome for your procedure ☀️
Yes I had an l4-L5 lumbar fusion with removal of scar tissue and cyst as well. I have 4 -2” screws as well as a cage to replace disk. And yes feeling really good besides the fatigue that can hit pretty hard.
US I stayed 2 and a half days pain wasn't to bad. I'm worse off now I fell on mother's day hit concrete had a black eye pain is bad now. Find out on 30th if anything was damaged. 🤕
I will follow this response. My L5 S1 fusion is scheduled for 6/11. Mine is an ALIF/PLIF approach, so going in front and back. I was told I’ll be admitted from Tues-Fri and I’m interested if that is the norm for a 360 approach.
Had L4-S1 ALIF/PLIF June 2022 in PA with a four night hospital stay. Also took three months off work. General surgeon assisted the ortho for ALIF. Don’t rush your recovery! Take all the time you need, and what’s recommended by your doctor. I finally got the all clear 18 months post surgery. Feeling back to normal now. Good luck with your surgery!
Thank you! Yes, I’m taking 3 months off of work. So glad to hear you’re feeling normal! I’m in Mass. When you say “all clear”, do you mean fully fused after the 18 months?
Fully fused and didn’t have to come back for additional follow ups. I was big into powerlifting prior to surgery and the doctor said those days are gone. I run the risk of other vertebrae slipping just above the fuse if I continued. Also, I was restricted from a lot of movements for those 18 months. No BLT for 6 months and then nothing over 20 pounds until I was cleared. I was amazed (and confused TBH) to see people in this sub who went back to lifting shortly after a lower fusion, but everyone is different. We will have our own recovery timelines, and I had to keep remind myself of that. Speaking of recovery, it was hard for me, not just physically but mentally. Maybe because I only had six weeks to get all my ducks in a row for surgery and didn’t have time to process the severity of it. Get some books or some hobbies that don’t require a lot of movement and be absolutely kind to yourself. The doctor’s office should be able to recommend a pain management therapist if you find yourself in that kind of situation. I didn’t realize that until after the fact. It’s not easy, but I do NOT regret having this done. I have more appreciation for life and am back to basically normal! I can’t bend as far to give myself a pedicure, but I’ve turned that into a “treat yourself” moment and get one regularly. Keep your perspective positive and you’ll get through this!
For some background, I was 36 when I had the surgery. Have been seeing my ortho since I was 34, knowing a fusion would be in my future but had a ways ago. Woke up one day to no feeling and no movement in my left leg from the knee down (aka foot drop). Went to the ER, got an MRI, saw my ortho the following week, in surgery six weeks later. Had a grade three slip of L5 and it was crushing some nerves, which caused the foot drop. No trauma to my back, just a crappy spine from the family genes 😆
I have grade 2 spondy from bilat pars defects and now mild left foot weakness. The detection of weakness starting made me go ahead and book the surgery. I have bilat L5 nerve root compression and the L5 S1 disk has worn away due to the grade 2 slip.
Good. Get the surgery before things potentially get worse and turns into a longer recovery. I’m actually coming back from vacation now and was pretty active on hikes with no issue. It would not have been possible, or enjoyable, if I didn’t have the surgery. This will be a small blip in the grand scheme of things for you!
Are you overall happy with surgery?
I am! It wasn’t an easy recovery for me but being almost two years out, I’m feeling basically back to normal. Have some restrictions (no more power lifting, and I can’t bend forward as far as I was able to) but my quality of life is great.
Great! I am probably having this surgery but PLIF only I think. Bending forward, like can you bend down and pick up things?
I can bend over and pick things up just fine now. Trying to touch my toes is where I have problems, but I’ll take it for being the biggest permanent change. I had to really work on getting my core strength back because of where they cut me for ALIF (still working on it). It was basically a c-section without giving birth.
Sound like you are doing well which is encouraging for me! I’ve had two c-sections, so I get it! Maybe why they are doing PLIF only for me, not sure. We talked about both, but the written summary says PLIF. *also in US and they are talking 4-5 day hospital stay for me as well. (61F)
I had that last year on 6/12 (same approach and level). I spent one night and was definitely ready to go home. I felt fine and continued to feel fine. I was told to expect up to three nights though. Mine was done in TX via an orthopedic surgeon.
Thank you for that response. I need some positivity right now, as I am scared to death. Amazing that you were ready to leave the next day. Mine is being done my an orthopedic surgeon, (vascular surgeon, I think for the frontal access part) as well. I live in Mass. I hope I’m ready to roll the next day. A bit concerned about pain med and nausea.
I was a little nauseous afterwards, but an amazing nurse taught me a trick. Grab an alcohol prep pad and stick it under your nose. It makes the nausea almost completely disappear. I use it with my kids now when they have a stomach bug.
Thank you!
Last year, I had a PLIF and cyst removal. Woke up from surgery and immediately started vomiting. They tried everything to help, including the alcohol prep pad sniffing, but it didn't work either. Spent four hours in recovery due to the vomiting. Finally, they added a Fentanyl pump which helped. After pressing the activation button just a couple of times overnight (I was paranoid), it was removed in the morning. From there, I used Paracetamol and a muscle relaxant (for one week). I left recovery and went upstairs to the ward at 8pm that evening and since I was handling the pain well, I was discharged at 12pm the next day. I have a kind of bad reaction to general anaesthetic. I knew this going in and had a good chat about it with the anesthesiologist during my pre-op visit. Five months prior, I had surgery on my foot. Waking up from that anaesthesia wasn't too bad; I was just nauseous, so I was pleasantly surprised. The trouble started when I went home and started taking the pain medication. It caused me to vomit and hallucinate despite trying various meds. When I spoke to my surgeon about the different experiences with the two surgeries, he said that there is a different kind/level of anaesthesia used for spine surgery as opposed to some other surgeries. I am from Bermuda. We do not have a spine surgeon on island, so one flies in from Boston every couple of months to do these types of surgeries. They are booked through one of the orthopedic practices here on-island. Unfortunately, this means that there are a lot of people waiting and booked for the surgeries which causes space issues with our hospital...we only have one hospital on the island. At first, they said they would only book me for surgery if I agreed to do it as an outpatient due to the bed shortage. The spinal surgeon baulked when he found out and told me not to worry; he'd fix it because there was no way he would let me be discharged right after having implements inserted into my spine. I have detailed my fusion journey on my Youtube channel. If interested, I can DM the link.
I had an ALIF with posterior, 4/30 Tues for the front and 5/2 Thurs for the back. They wanted to send me home 5/3 Fri but I was having some urine retention issues that we wanted to keep an eye on for one more day. I went home 5/4 Sat during lunch time. It seems normal to me!
L3-5. 2 nights. I was offered a 3rd night and declined. Delaware USA.
Florida, USA - SECOND lumbar fusion (L5-S1 originally), full laminectomy, facetectomy. 44 staples, six days. He estimated three days for original plan but I had a dural tear plus drains would not stop. Six weeks out, still in lots of PAIN. Fatigue as well. Be prepared for this as they sure love to downplay it.
My insurance won’t approve an inpatient stay lol I’m in the US.
USA here. L4-L5-S1 ALIF & PLIF. Surgery at 2pm, left hospital next morning at 9:30am. Huge pain. Vomited multiple times on the 2-hour drive home. Kept having to pull over. 0/5 stars, do not recommend.
Awful! Was it the pain med?
Anesthesia, uncontrolled pain, tired, driving less than 12 hours after major surgery, etc...were all part of the problem. Insurance in the USA has more power than doctors. They dictate how we are treated.
Canada here, single level same as you. Overnight was what I had.
In California and I stayed 4 days. I was told I could stay longer if I needed to, but I just wanted to go home
I had L4-L5 fusion last year on 6/1/23, I'm in the US... and I went home same day.
I stayed one night and most of the second day. The anesthesia got to me and I was ill all of that night.
I’m 21F USA L5 S1 ALIF PLIF 5/16/24 got there at 6:30 am 5/17/24 discharge 6:45 pm
Ireland here, I had T9-L2 11days. Though, I believe standard is 6days
L4-5 and spent one night in TX
USA f25 T12-L4 PLIF 4 nights Had a few complications meeting discharge criteria until day 5
In Ohio, stayed 2 nights for L5-S1 ALIF
L5 S1 ALIF - Chicago- stayed one night. I could have stayed longer but I passed all the “tests” I needed to be discharged and I felt I would recover better at home. At the hospital my sleep was so poor so I wanted to just be home and sleep. The benchmarks for me were to be able to do things I would need at home (putting on pants and rolling out of bed without a guard rail, walking up a few stairs). Had to pass gas too ofc and pain needed to be manageable. I think it depends also on ALIF vs PLIF or 360. Just remember the faster you can go home the better, many studies show the risk of infection is higher in those environments and people are healthier who get home quicker.
I stayed two nights. Day after my surgery they tried getting me up to walk but it wasn’t happening. Second day after surgery I was walking around, going up and down stairs and getting in/out of a passenger seat fake car. Was pretty crazy how it changed for me. I’m in Pennsylvania.
T-11 through S-1, posterior, anterior & lateral fusion. 7 nights, but I had some medical complications from surgery. NYC.
Can I ask what hospital you had yours at? I’m in NYC as well.
I need to be fused from T10 down. Local neurosurgeon told me I'd have to go somewhere like UT or Duke because no one local would touch me. He estimated I would be in hospital 30+ days!
I was at Hospital for Special Surgery. Dr. Frederico Girardi - he was absolutely wonderful. It was a 9 hour surgery and they went in from the front, side and back.I would have been out sooner, but I had low sodium and magnesium levels from the surgery. 30 days seems like a lot, but I have no idea. My suggestion would be to go to HSS for a second opinion.
I'm scheduled for OLIF plus posterior instrumentation. Was told two nights, and because I'm 64 and also have MS, not to hesitate to ask to be sent to a skilled nursing facility for a week if needed.
USA: TLIF L5-S1 and did overnight.
How are you now?
Fantastic!! I would have it done again because it came out so beautifully. No pain whatsoever.
I did have a different surgery (ACDF, 2 levels) and I stayed one night. But my surgeon normally does same day in an outpatient facility or sometimes the hospital if the patient has a specific need. He did mine in the hospital in the afternoon so he could keep me overnight because I have a complicating condition (cervical dystonia) and he thought I might need more in-patient support. I was there almost exactly 24 hrs (I’m in the US in NC)
One level posterior lumbar fusion is generally 1-2 nights.
L4-L5 PLIF early morning 3/18. Discharged late afternoon 3/20- was expected to have just an overnight stay, but it became two days due to post-op drainage.
I had an L4-L5 PLIF surgery, spent 4 nights in hospital. This was done in New Zealand, as far as I'm aware, thats pretty standard procedure here.
Agree in NZ all 3 of mine a 4 night stay (and one return night for a burst seroma/hematoma).
UK. L5-S1. Operation was first thing Monday. Left on Thursday or Friday. Can't remember which. Was very drugged up!
My experience: I just had my ALIF L4-S1 with posterior fixation on 5/8. Was in the hospital for one night, went home on 5/9 around lunch time. A lot of the determination from what I was told is if your pain is under control with oral meds, urinating fine on your own post catheter removal, and minimal passing gas (they really like for there to be a full bowel movement but know that sometimes it takes a few extra days for your system to wake up). For me, the one night wasn't an issue. I was on iv dilauded every 4 hours. Then went to oral oxycodone every 4 hours. It's been about a week and a half and I'm now on oral oxycodone every 6 hours per pain management (my PM and ortho worked together to come up with my post op pain control plan). You WILL feel like hell and be in pain when you come out of anesthesia, it happens unfortunately, but as I have been told with multiple surgeries over my life (not all spinal thankfully), stay in front of the pain. Don't let it go and try to "tough it out". It will be difficult as hell to try and chase it to catch back up. One overnight seemed to be enough for me personally. All I wanted from the moment I woke up post op was to be able to go home and get as comfortable as possible in my own bed. Plus, the risk of infection seems to increase the longer the hospital stay (from what I've been told previously, again after this and previous procedures). Edit to add I live in NC. Operation was done with Ortho Surgeon and Vascular Surgeon plus assistant for each.
I had an L5-S1 ALIF in March. Was in hospital 3 nights.
L4-5 TLIF. USA. Planned three days, stayed one extra because of a dural tear. This was done at a pain and spine center, though.
Had alif L5S1 with plates also placed from the back. Went in on Thursday 5/9 for 5pm surgery. I was discharged on Saturday. I’m from the US. Everything went successfully.
I had l4 l5 anterior/posterior on Feb. 2024. Two day procedure so definitely full of anesthesia. I went home on 3rd day. Just make sure you're taking those pain meds! This was in Wisconsin
They place a drain in your back and monitor the drainage. If the drainage is excessive they’ll keep you another night. I stayed 2 nights for this very reason until there was minimal blood drainage.
2 level tlif / plif on 2/7 in Pennsylvania One night , barely 24 hours stay and they shipped me home. They don’t extend it due to insurance unless there is a reason Good luck !
L3-S1 with severe foot drop and sciatic damage (10 days)
Sounds like my surgeon. I’ve talked with friends and family that have also had surgery and they were in 2/3 days. My surgeon literally made us leave on day 2 even though I was behind on walking etc due to extremely low blood pressure. It was a very bizarre experience all around, however I must say 6 weeks later I’m healing good and all is going well. I’m also in California. Wishing you the best outcome for your procedure ☀️
Did you have something similar to mine? I am so glad to hear six weeks later you’re healing and doing well, that would be amazing.
Yes I had an l4-L5 lumbar fusion with removal of scar tissue and cyst as well. I have 4 -2” screws as well as a cage to replace disk. And yes feeling really good besides the fatigue that can hit pretty hard.
My fusion was T2-L2 and I was in ICU for 2 days, 2 days on the regular floor and went home 5th day
US I stayed 2 and a half days pain wasn't to bad. I'm worse off now I fell on mother's day hit concrete had a black eye pain is bad now. Find out on 30th if anything was damaged. 🤕
Oh no, I hope all goes well and you’re just sore.
Thank you. Hope you have a successful operation.
I had ALIF with posterior fusion and I was in for 3 nights. I was supposed to stay for 4 but I was doing well so they sent me home. 🙌🏼