Spine surgery is a significant trauma to your body, even when minimally invasive techniques are used, so the decision to pursue surgery should not be taken lightly. Before you move forward with an operation, you’ll want to make sure that you and your surgeon are on the same page, and the best way to do that is by discussing a few important topics during your initial or pre-op consultation. In today’s blog, we take a look at five topics you should discuss with your doctor prior to spine surgery.
Conversations To Have With Your Spine Surgeon
Discussing these five topics can give you peace of mind and ensure that you are pursuing the right treatment for your needs. Here’s what you’ll want to discuss:
- “Why Are You Recommending This Specific Operation?” – Oftentimes there are a few different surgical techniques that can be pursued to help address an issue. For example, a disc issue is typically either treated by inserting an artificial disc or by fusing nearby spinal segments to limit movement at a particular area. Ask your surgeon why they are recommending this specific procedure, and why this surgery should deliver the best results.
- “What Should I Be Doing Before Surgery?” – Patients oftentimes think that they have to wait until surgery is complete to pursue physical therapy or other helpful techniques, but that’s not the case. There are a number of things you should be doing prior to surgery to help your body become the strongest version of itself before the operation. They’ll likely give you some individualized advice for improving your diet so that your body has access to a range of healthy nutrients, and they may also give you some prehabilitation exercises to perform to improve your strength and mobility.
- “What Are Some Possible Risks And How Will They Be Handled If They Develop?” – All surgeries carry some risks, and it’s important to have an understanding of the potential risks and talk with your surgeon about some of the ways these issues can be mitigated and handled should they develop. Ask them if there is anything you can do to help lower your risk of surgical complications, discuss the most common issues and ask how they’ve handled these problems during or after surgery in the past.
- “Does The Surgery Match My Goals?” – It’s important to have some goals in mind in regards to your surgery and recovery, and please share these goals with your surgeon. Are you simply hoping the procedure will help you have less pain, or are you hoping to be able to return to specific activities? Having mismatched expectations for surgery and recovery can have a significant impact on your physical and mental health, so you’ll want to ensure any goals you have for yourself in regards to your recovery are realistic. Tell your doctor why you’re pursuing surgery and what you’ll hope to get out of it once your rehab is finished.
- “Assuming All Goes As Planned, What Will My Recovery Look Like” – Once you’ve covered some important topics in regards to the procedure itself, ask your surgeon what your expected recovery will look like assuming everything goes as expected with the procedure. When will you be able to return to work, school or athletics? What do you need to know about the first few weeks of recovery? How often will you be attending physical therapy sessions? Will you need help at home for a while? Start mapping out your rehab in your head well in advance of surgery, and the easiest way to do that is by talking with your surgeon about your expected recovery timeline.
If you have these conversations with your provider, we’re confident that you’ll be very prepared for your upcoming spinal procedure. For more information, or to set up a consultation with Dr. Jackman, reach out to the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.
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