From the first visit to full recovery, your care with Dr. Ronjon Paul is designed to be thoughtful, individualized, and transparent.
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A: This is because the nerves can take a long time to heal and may still be sensitive immediately after surgery. As healing progresses and the initial inflammatory phase as surgery resolves, the nerve irritations will resolve. This may take weeks to months in certain circumstances. This is why we follow our patients up to a year after surgery.
A: It can, and most likely will. If you are prone to constipation, make sure your bowels are soft and moving regularly prior to surgery for several days. Some patients will start a clear liquid diet the day before. It is especially important that you have a bowel movement within 48 hours after surgery. Opioid medications, in particular, are associated with constipation, and patients should investigate taking a stool softener such as Docusate, and a fiber laxative such as psyllium to facilitate normal bowel movements.
A: If you are prone to nausea and vomiting, please let the anesthesiologist know the day of surgery. Current anesthetic practices have drastically improved these issues, but additional precautions may help. Also, Dr. Paul’s team will avoid medications that may cause nausea and vomiting for you.
A: Although uncommon, wounds can become infected following any operation. Redness and warmth accompanying unusually painful incisions are suggestive of infection, as well as oozing of the incision site. Risk of deep infection within the first 2 weeks after surgery is rare. If you develop a sustained fever over 101 or if you experience malodorous drainage or the incision turns deep red and sensitive to touch, please contact our office. Notify your physician immediately if any of these symptoms occur please call or message us.
A: It is very common to have elevated temperatures postoperatively. You may notice your body temperature fluctuating between 99-101.0 degrees. This is commonly due to the body’s reaction to the trauma of surgery, as well as pain medicine causing slight changes in breathing by not allowing our air sacs in the lungs to expand (atelectasis). Use the breathing machine (if received during your hospital stay) or be sure to take a deep breath 10 times per hour while awake to aid in keeping the lungs healthy and the body temperature down. It is very rare to develop a postoperative infection within the first 2 weeks after surgery. If you have sustained temperature greater than or equal to 101.0 or have concerns, call our office to discuss.
A: If you have had trouble urinating after other surgeries, please let Dr. Paul’s team know. We can sometimes become concerned with urinary retention after surgery since this can be a sign of spinal cord compression which can lead to permanent effects if not quickly addressed. If you have a history of an enlarged prostate or prior history or postoperative urinary retention, please let us know.
A: Surgeries performed under general anesthesia will involve placing a tube down the windpipe to facilitate breathing during the operation. Irritation can persist for a few days but will usually resolve on its own.
A: It is not uncommon to feel mildly depressed or anxious for the first 4-6 weeks after any surgery, but those feelings should go away as your daily activities and exercise resume. This is more common with larger or multilevel surgeries. If depression continues, please consult with your primary care doctor.
A: With proper post-operative activity, therapy and positive mindset, people lose minimal function with a short lumbar fusion. The goal is for improved overall function with surgery. The degree to which people notice a loss of motion is very subjective and individual. From a mechanical perspective, you lose some motion with any fusion. The question becomes how your remaining levels and joints compensate to retain your function and everyday lifestyle.
Dr. Paul’s team rarely relies on braces and extensive immobilization. The instrumentation and current spinal techniques generally create enough stability to allow the bones to fuse. As a result, we allow people to move sooner after surgery. If necessary, we typically order physical therapy after your two-week visit with Kevin. Exceptions would include fusions involving four or more levels and people with osteopenia.
It’s especially essential to maintain or improve motion through your hips, knees, and upper back after a lumbar fusion. Flexibility, core strengthening, and an emphasis on function during the postoperative course helps to optimize your motion.
A: Your surgery was done for a degenerative condition that may affect other parts of your spine in the future. If you have had surgery at one level in your spine, it would be reasonable to assume you could have problems at the same or other levels. Since the spine has 36 levels, this is not unusual.
Most people handle degenerative difficulties with self-care and non-operative care. That being said, Dr. Paul and his team go to great lengths to minimize the chances of needing additional care for your spine. That includes careful surgical planning, intraoperative decision making, and post-operative care.
A: With proper post-operative activity, therapy and positive mindset, people lose minimal function with a short lumbar fusion. The goal is for improved overall function with surgery. The degree to which people notice a loss of motion is very subjective and individual. From a mechanical perspective, you lose some motion with any fusion. The question becomes how your remaining levels and joints compensate to retain your function and everyday lifestyle. Dr. Paul’s team rarely relies on braces and extensive immobilization. The instrumentation and current spinal techniques generally create enough stability to allow the bones to fuse. As a result, we allow people to move sooner after surgery.
A: If necessary, we typically order physical therapy after your two-week visit with Kevin. Exceptions would include fusions involving four or more levels and people with osteopenia.
It’s especially essential to maintain or improve motion through your hips, knees, and upper back after a lumbar fusion. Flexibility, core strengthening, and an emphasis on function during the postoperative course helps to optimize your motion.
A: Your surgery was done for a degenerative condition that may affect other parts of your spine in the future. If you have had surgery at one level in your spine, it would be reasonable to assume you could have problems at the same or other levels. Since the spine has 36 levels, this is not unusual.
Most people handle degenerative difficulties with self-care and non-operative care. That being said, Dr. Paul and his team go to great lengths to minimize the chances of needing additional care for your spine. That includes careful surgical planning, intraoperative decision making, and post-operative care.