What Makes A Good Candidate For Spine Surgery?

Spine surgery may be exactly what you need in order to put your discomfort behind you if conservative techniques have failed, but not every person is automatically eligible for an operation. Surgery is a major undertaking for your body, and doctors need to analyze the risks and rewards associated with a procedure to ensure that it truly is the right decision for the patient. But what makes someone ineligible for spine surgery, or better yet, what makes someone a good candidate for back surgery? We tackle that question in today’s blog.

Who Is An Ideal Back Surgery Candidate?

Here’s a look at some of the controllable and uncontrollable factors that can determine if someone is an ideal candidate for spine surgery.

1. Age – The older you get, the more inherent risks there are with anesthesia and surgery, so the ideal candidate is a little younger. Patients in their fifties, sixties and seventies tend to be more ideal than those 80 and above, but remember that age is just a number. We’ve seen 70 year olds who are in better shape than some 50 year olds, so know that age alone is not the end all be all. Age is a factor, but it’s certainly not the most important factor.
2. Health And Underlying Conditions – More important than age is your overall health. As we mentioned above, age is just a number, and your overall health will paint a much clearer picture as to how well we expect you and your body to respond to the trauma of surgery. Underlying health conditions like diabetes and heart disease will by no means disqualify you from surgery, but your care team is going to want to make sure that you manage these underlying conditions in the lead up to your operation.
3. Ideal Weight – Being overweight or obese can also complicate your surgery and recovery, so the ideal candidate will be at a healthy weight. Fortunately, this is one of the most controllable factors on this list. You can work to lose a little weight and take some stress off your spine, which will inherently be weakened by the trauma of surgery. Surgery is also riskier if you are heavier because more tissue needs to be cut and maneuvered around in order to access the surgical site. Your doctor will talk about a weight management plan ahead of surgery if your weight is something they want you to manage ahead of the operation.
4. Conservative Attempts Didn’t Work – It is very rare for surgery to be the first line of treatment, and a surgeon isn’t going to jump into an operation if they believe that conservative methods can produce effective results. If you’ve tried a few different conservative techniques for a number of weeks and have not found success, surgery may be the next step. You’re not really an ideal candidate for surgery until you’ve tried some non-operative methods without success.
5. You Have The Right Mindset – Finally, the ideal candidate will approach surgery with an open mind and a positive work ethic. Your surgeon is going to want to know that you are willing to put in the work once they’ve surgically addressed your spinal issue, otherwise your healing and recovery will be limited. Everyone wants their back to feel better, but not everyone is willing to put in the work during physical therapy and their rehabilitation to achieve these results. In a perfect world, all of our patients would come in knowing that they have to put in some work after the operation in order to make the strongest recovery.

For more information about spine surgery or what makes an ideal surgical candidate, reach out to Dr. Jackman and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.