Spinal Fusion Side Effects and Warnings

Possible Complications

Complications are rare, but no procedure is completely free of risk. If you are planning to have a spinal fusion, your doctor will review a list of possible complications, which may include:

• Bleeding
• Infection
• Incomplete fusion of the bones
• Blood clots
• Hematoma (build-up of blood in the wound)
• Nerve damage causing pain, numbness, tingling, or paralysis
• Impaired bowel and/or bladder function
• Reaction to anesthesia

Factors that may increase the risk of complications include:

• Smoking
• Poor nutrition
• Obesity
• Advanced age
• Pre-existing medical condition

Call Your Doctor

After you leave the hospital, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs:

• Signs of infection, including fever and chills
• Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or discharge from the incision site
• Nausea and/or vomiting that you cannot control with the medicines you were given after surgery, or which persist for more than two days after discharge from the hospital
• Pain that you cannot control with the medicines you have been given
• Cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain
• Joint pain, fatigue, stiffness, rash, or other new symptoms
• Numbness, tingling, pain, or weakness, especially in the arms, hands, legs, or feet
• Pain, swelling in your feet, legs, or calves
• Loss of bladder or bowel function
• Pain, burning, urgency, frequency of urination, or persistent blood in the urine

In case of an emergency, CALL 911.