Video

May 21 and 22, 2024, Robert Bohinski from Mayfield Brain and Spine, anterior place spacers S1 to L3. On the 22nd fusion from the back S1 to T9. Was 7 weeks before pain was gone. Almost 3 1/2 months and I have no pain at all. Before surgery I couldn't stand, walk more than a couple feet without pain, numbness in my legs, sitting caused pain. Very happy so far after surgery. It wasn't easy at all, but worth it.

I'm having the same surgery on Oct 8th. You've been a huge inspiration for me. I've had total knee replacement. You'll get thru that easily. God bless!

Prayers

Im getting L2 L3 done this September thanks to 16 years of tree removal my back is shot at 43 years old

"After that, reality sets in " 😂

Can you walk, run, jump, stand, bend, stretch, carry weight, ride a bike, drive long distance and sit down on the floor without pain and stiffness today?

Does not sound too easy. Next time choose another Doctor. You can thank the Sackler Brothers for your pain delemma.

I am 2-months post op from the same surgery- - now I've been hit with SI Joint pain on the (R) side. Have you ever experienced SI joint pain during your recovery?

You are a survivor brother! I don't know if i could be as strong as you but i do know when we are put in difficult circumstances we fight like hell. Self preservation.

Thank you for the video. I have L5-S1 fusion coming, and so far, im getting hope. Im 50 and hope recovery goes well. I have the tingling in my left foot and intense burning in my thigh along with the back pain, of course. My mind wants to talk me out of it from fear, but i know i will forever be mad at myself if i dont do it. Thanks.

I so sorry you had to go through this I feel your pain I had a spinal fusion in my C-4 C-5 and I got a Discectomy in my L-4 L-5 and I need a PLIF IN MY L-3 L-4 L-5 I’m so afraid because it’s with rods I can’t take the pain every few days it’s serious pain my mid back down to my two feet I’m tired of crying and complaining of pain I get burning stabbing sharp pains and this insurance from my worker’s compensation always giving a problem one day they want to settle and I say no because I want to be fix in anyway then they don’t give you your back pay denied my surgery so they could do other things in my back and they always denied my prescriptions I can’t take this anymore I’m going this week to do something called radio frequency abulation so if that doesn’t work so we go to the next step does anybody have any information that I could give to my doctors or lawyer to get my surgery please and thank you ❤

Thank you for this video. Im 50 and have to get a L5-S1 fusion. I have a great surgeon so i hope it goes well.

I am so sorry to hear of your diagnosis. Was the cancer related to your back surgery? Some surgeons have noted that the bone graft material can sometimes increase your risk.

Next operation request a "Texas Catheter" also known as an external catheter.

You were very fortunate that your doctor and hospital gave you the proper pain medication to help you get thru your initial recovery. Unfortunately, that's not the norm . After my back and neck fusion, Baptist Health would only give me 1 -10mg of hydrocodone per 6hrs I was in so much pain I lost my mind and told them if they didn't give me something stronger I was gonna start breaking shit . the nurse came in and gave me a morphine injection 2hrs later but I believe it was saline solution cause it did nothing. Same thing when I went home I was in so much pain but the surgeon would only give me minimal pain meds and switched me over to prednisone to help with my foot and leg pain weeks later then just cut me off completely saying there was nothing else they can do for me Ive had a shattered left ankle where they had to rebreak it and put rods in it back in the 80s and they gave me a proper morphine drip to help with the pain after surgery Things have changed for the worse

i had l5s1 done back in late 2015 it gets a lot worse before it gets better then your next disc falls apart and you are right back where you were but even worse off. I'm basically a cripple now can't hardly stand for more then an hr or walk more then a few feet without pain . And I'm petrified to have to go through the experience again and the doctors could care less about how much pain your in

I am currently at 4-weeks post-op from having my L3-4-5 spinal fusion - I am having hip and groin pain - is this something you ever experienced during your recovery ?

Hi uncle John! I was searching CZcams for videos on lumbar fusion, because I will likely be having the same one done in the next month or so, and I saw your videos and I said wait a second, that's my uncle! I called my mom and sent her the video and she confirmed! I am looking forward to meeting you in person in September!

This is not what I was expecting regarding a Recovery Week 2 following a Lumbar spinal fusion surgery. Lots of focus on walking which I dont get. What about pain? movement? where was the pain (other than your knee)???

I'm 17 days out from L4, L5, S1 fusion. It's amazing how much better I feel. Pain in the hospital was very intense. The iv steroids in the hospital were a game changer. Things do get better! Today, I went about 24 hours w/o pain meds. Taking things 1 day at a time.

Thank you for the updates. I will have to have surgery at some point and am watching many recovery videos. Hope you are doing better.

Hello friend how you doing now? Pain free

Smells BS story here😂

No leg pain is not a side effect ir symptom if this surgery ,as well as severe back spasms,or limiting your ability to walk .Im so sorry i wish it was just all a bad dream because i k ow what i go through now just to get up and and get to the bathroom let alone walking a distance unassisted .

I have had this same surgery exactly w\i struments and i couldnt walk right after ,i douldnt walk when discharged 5 days latr ,and here it is 3 years later and still cant stand or walk nnow its only gotten worse and developed new numbness/pain in a different part of my spine I have never had any pain and was told my surgeons suregry was perfect and i cant be helped by anyone to go back in narcotics .I had Minimalky Invasive L4,L5,S1 Decompression Fusion w/Instruments.Spasms as well constant and severe enough to make me call an ambulance and go to the E.R.I was nevr told spasms were a side effect ,as well as severe cramping in the lower abdomen so bad it k icks you to your knees as well as severe nerve pain in the front of my thighs and sciatica which i still have 3 years later after 3 stints in physical therapy , occupational therapy , physio therapy.and scare tissue higher up in my spine .Dont get me wrong this type of surgery is great as long as its a 1st or even 2nd for a revision,but when I have had 6 previous open back surgeries and have alot of scare tissueas well as arthritic damage and does not suit a patient with my history and I regret Ever Agreeing to this specific type of surgery.! Im Happy you are feeling better as time goes on and Im sorry you too are dealing with severe spasms and pain.

Thank you for your advise. My op is tomorrow morning. Regards E E. SA.

Does not seem easy!! And it depends on what hospital staff.. are and behaviors and doctors and insurance.. your experience is not what other humans will feel or go through.. i am happy you video it.. but i think you have share your experience but not let it be a experience for ALL.

2024 Go to Europe if your considering spine surgery !!!!!!

Sir how are you today? How's your pain? How's your spasms? How is the quality of life now? I'm looking at a 3 disc spinal fusion. I am very Apprehensive about having this surgery. I just know 1 day. My legs are gonna give out and they won't be able to walk again. And then at that moment that's irreversible. So I would be confined to a wheelchair. I have a very active life. If grandchildren meet, I drive to Visit 5 Hours Away. The other ones are seven hours away. So, all and now, how do you feel, sir? If you don't mind me asking? My hope is that you are doing OK and that you're living your best life. If anyone else happens to read this comment and he's been to this situation, please felt free to reply.. I'm trying to do my research and make an executive decision. Is my surge in told me to put my affairs in order to make a will? Have that all in place there are no guarantees with this spinal surgery. I even got a second opinion that doctor said. The first doctor is the best doctor in my city that can do that surgery. And he's remarkable is what my second opinion doctor said. So anyways, thank you for sharing your story. I really do appreciate hearing what other people have to say about this. I know my surgeon did. Tell me that once they start surgery on my back. That before I know it I'll have my whole spine I'll be fused. Because Once they start operating on your back It seems like the operate on it quite often according to my surgeon. With the 3 fractures that I have in the bone spurs. Be in a grammy is The best thing in the world. May surgeon and team of doctors say that I have the spine. I'm a ninety year old person. So many vertebraes that are completely degenerated in faucets. That are completely gone that it's gonna be a complex surgery. Because they're gonna have to find places to anchor screws to whatever that means, i'm not quite for sure.. I just know that he told me that my whole life is going to change.. I didn't know any of this before. I got a new car and now I can hardly get In-N-Out of and I aint bought a new bed for my bedroom. And it's too high off the ground for me to get in and out of it after a surgery. My goodness, I just have so much going on that. I just don't know what to do so. I've come to CZcams like I hear. A lot of other people do to try to find. How other people have felt going through this procedure. To everybody on this post. God bless you all and if you're struggling. Just know that you don't have to struggle alone. there's people out there Who would cheer you up. So if I could be encouraging. If you're struggling please just keep shine in. Please just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Every stumbling block that you come to turn it over and use it as a stepping stone.. Keep Shining ✨️ 🙏🏻

I had lumbar 3 caged fusion I'm very strong guy been in top of roofs for 35 year but this surgery is painful very bad but you remember family and friends needs you and you will make it be tuf

Hi John; thanks for posting this post op review. Well done for dealing with the cancer as you were recovering from the surgery.

Try God he helps but very slowly and gradually. But no blood is spilled if you go the Jesus god route

SLEEP? What is that? The doctors don’t tell you the range symptoms that you will have. I can’t get out of bed by myself. And then it’s almost impossible and EXTREMELY PAINFUL just to do everyday activities. If not for having relatives to help me,I guess I would lay there and STARVE TO DEATH. Doctors don’t tell you the bad part of surgery. With a smile on their face, say “We can fix you” I’m not sure that I would do this again,if I had it to do over again. And it’s been EXTREMELY HARD on my family. I regret putting them through it 😢

Hello, I hope you are continue to be healthy, free from cancer and also enjoying the benefits of your lumbar fusion surgery. I was wondering if you could please share your age when you had your initial back surgery? Thank you - I am trying to see if my age might be a consideration in this surgery. Thank you !

So what you guys are all saying is cancel my surgery tomorrow because it sounds useless

4 days in the hospital? Are you a politician or someone famous? Everyone else is gone the same day or 24 hours later. Wtf

Hey John, hope you still on the mend. 🏋🏻‍♂️

How are you doing now? I felt better for two years but now have more herniated discs and in a lot of pain. Muscle spasms are the worst.

Your Dr should have given you a Muscle Relaxant for the spasms...Flexeril or Robaxin! I am seeing a Neurosurgeon next week about my spinal stenosis.. It is bad at L3-L4. I had laminectomy way back in 1978 on L4-L5 and survived that! It just keeps getting narrower and narrower and I lose the ability to control my body and fall. It is time I trust someone to fix it! 😢

Hi, I am an l3-S1 patient who had surgury almost 4 weks ago. My recovery is ging uite well but I have to respectfuly question the distance you walk. A distance of 7k within 30 min would be a run....not a walk. 7K is over 4 miles in 30 min = more than 8 mph. Care to clarify...thanks

Basically my question is would you have the procedure again.? I developed back pain in 2010, my Primary Dr said he saw narrowing in both hips but did not offer a solution. My pain level increased to the point I went to a sports orthopedic surgeon renowned for his success rate with the Alabama Crimson Tide football program and he said zi needed l3 l4 and l5 fused. That diagnosis produced fear so I sought a second opinion from a neurosurgeon with equality established credentials who said he would not operate and to return when I absolutely couldn't tolerate the pain. So, in 2013 i returned to the neurosurgeon with the same low backpain, no hip pain, yet was told the same thing as before "return when i couldn't tolerate the pain any longer. We are now at 2016, every mri showed encroachment at the exiting l5-s1 root nerve and i was also experiencing intermittent groin and pelvic floor sharp pain. In the fall of 2016, i went back to my primary doctor and he sent me to a pain management quack who terminated opioid treatment due to a emergency room report that indicated i was taking a muscle relaxer not prescribed by this pain management facility when all that they had to do was review their records and would see they originally prescribed this muscle relaxer. I was tired of this pain management doctor so I return to the neurosurgeon who would not perform any surgeries and he sent me to his partner who asked me if I wanted to fuse the L5S1 vertebrae. So I did. This did not help me at all. By this time, not groln pain had increased as bad as my back pain so after another MRI showing L5S1 root nerve impingement and narrowing hips I was sent to a surgeon who specialized in doing replacement hip surgeries. Guess what, I was told that I needed both hips replaced or I would not be able to walk! What to do? I'm beginning to think there was no solution but let me continue my story. I gave in and in the winter of 2017 had my left hip replaced and that procedure did not cause me much grief. In March of 2018, I had my right hip replaced had upon waking up from surgery I distinctly remember telling them to cut my throat I wanted to die because the pain was so great I would have cut my throat if I could have. I must have injected me with something that knocked me out, I think I just came out of recovery too soon after surgery. However, the surgeon told me not hips were badly damaged due to arthritis. The the hip replacements, I believe, caused severe burning in my lower buttocks and even down to my feet.Now sitting is almost impossible because of the pressure it puts on my sacrum. The hip surgeon arranged for me to see a different pain management specialist and they have been absolutely wonderful managing my pain never making me feel like I was seeking drugs and especially my appointments and schedule work on time never having to wait over 15 minutes before being seen by a specialist or having one of many epidurals. The hip surgeon work was a failure in my opinion and cause the severe burning that developed. Returning to the orthopedic surgeon, he fused the l3 l4 vertebrae and that did not help. I think the l3 l4 may have been a preliminary to the next suggested surgery of l3 l4 and l5 with rods and screws which I have avoided thus far. I'm beginning to lose fath in back surgeries. I have had several epidural injections and they only last at most 2 weeks and the pain gradually increases back to the point of beginning, the burning is resolved when I lay on a block of ice. We have ceramic floor tiles throughout the house and they are cold and it feels good to walk on cold tiles due to the burning in my feet. Not pain management doctor has asked me if I would like to try a spinal cord stimulation so I told him yes. I am due to have the initial placement October 31st 2023 only a few days from now. If these spinal cord stimulation resolves the burning, a surgeon will insert the wiring permanently and give me a battery pack that will be placed under the skin similar to a pacemaker device. The technology has improved to the point they can manipulate the paying blocking electronic signals by remote control and the battery can be recharged without having to have surgery. I failed to mention that I am 72 years old so I'm not trying to train for the Olympics. So after watching your videos, I was interested in asking you whether or not you would have it done over again. Everybody that I have talked to that has had back surgery had to return to the operating table for further back surgeries. So if the spinal cord stimulation does not work at this point I do not think I will have the l3 l4 l5 fused with rods and screws simply due to my age. CZcams video does not seem to match the date of your surgery but I assume it was around 2016, am I correct? Looking forward to your reply, to my questions, which is would you do it again? I invite anyone who may read my story to make their comments.

I just had this surgery 1 week ago today. I was in full spinal compression with leg paralysis, I could barely stand..... my surgery was 4 hours by 2 surgeons. So a week later I can tell this will be a long road to recovery, not just a couple weeks. I stand and walk around the house the sit and stay comfortable. The annoying back pain is gone which is a plus and my legs are strong will all the feeling coming back to them. Anyone getting this surgery just plan on sitting and taking it easy for a few months.

Thanks much for your story. I'm about to have l3-pelvis. best of luck..

Hey John Mark Schwartz here I had my surgery five week's ago S1 through L1 as you know it was a big surgery.I got home 5 days ago the big pain is gone I think I have a hip flexor left side never realized how low my chairs are and bed. I am walking barely also I'm getting around pretty good I don't want a wheelchair so I've been using a walker. For me I shower and bathing have been my hard part I've been blessed with a good friend who's been driving me and help me with whatever I need around the house so I'm pretty sure the surgery went pretty good I did end up in intensive care for 5 days and I guess my heart was going crazy. I'm pretty tired quite often and I wish I had better .physical therapy! I just write about your cancer diagnosis it's in the hands of our Lord John you got to just bite it you know what to do.

I had L3 L4 L5 AND S1 Rods its been a little more than 4 and a half months and im still in terrible pain when trying to walk . Sleeping is miserable. Wish i had never did it

Had L5 S1 fusion back in 04. Now for you, you are looking good and talking fine. Good luck

I reached a point where I could no longer walk due to sciatic pain in both legs due to spinal degradation from primarily abusing my body in sports.. Had a couple single level fusions as well as laminectomies. Had a 7 level fusion T11 to S1. Opened front and back with cages, crews, and 2 days of surgery. I was in so much pain, I really didn't care if I lived or died. Took me a good couple months to learn how to walk again. Surgeon said the numbness in my leg may or may not come back, but is fairly common. Thanks for that doc. It didn't come back. 5 years later, my right leg is still numb. My mobility is pretty well compromised, but at least I'm not in constant pain and can walk, but never will be able to run, bicycle or racquetball ever again. I keep thinking technology will eliminate the need for this barbaric surgery, but really haven't seen anything yet. I would just be very careful not to rush into this unless absolutely necessary. I can still feel the screws and occasionally get a bolt of lighting down my leg nerves, but am not taking anything for pain other than a couple of Tylenol to get through the day and nights. Go to the gym 3 times a week for treadmill walking and machine upper body and legs, no twisting or weight on the spine. Kicked my ass good, but I'm still kicking back.

Had surgery in 2015. Didnot do well got infection.not sure what she did. Had a wound vac for 3 months. Never again. Now my son to have b a ck surgery

Thank you so much for your videos. I hope you are well!

thats my issue need a good health report on all aspects before i go thru this