Swelling 2 Years after Spine Surgery

After a minimally invasive keyhole spinal procedure (or any surgery for that matter), patients are hyper-vigilante about recognizing any potential problems that may result from surgery. But typically once the patient gets through the initial weeks and months of recovery and returns to their daily routine, the anxiety decreases. However, sometimes an issue can present years after a spinal procedure. The goal of this patient education article is to help post-op patients determine the cause of swelling that occurs years after a spinal procedure.

What Causes Swelling in the Spine?

Swelling in the spine can be caused by many things, and figuring out the exact cause is paramount to an effective treatment approach. Here are some of the potential causes:

• Disc or Nerve Issues. A slipped spinal disc, or a pinched nerve are common causes of spinal swelling.
• Hardware Issues. If you had hardware implanted in your spine during a procedure, sometimes this can be the cause of swelling. Your body may react poorly to the hardware, or it may become dislodged.
• Acute Injury. Car accidents, slip & falls, and the like can all lead to bruising and swelling around the spine.

Making an Action Plan

Not all instances of spinal swelling require treatment. If your swelling is simply the result of bruising caused by an acute injury, time and rest will take care of the issue. However, if your swelling is the result of a nerve problem, or a hardware issue, surgical intervention will likely be necessary.

Inspired Spine procedures have helped many patients who have had previous failed spine surgeries. If you are experiencing spinal swelling, pain, or other unusual symptoms long after a spine procedure, contact us today to find out if an Inspired Spine surgery can help you. Inspired Spine surgeries were created specifically to reduce patient pain before, during, and after surgery. Our procedures also allow the surgeon to make a smaller incision and to complete the operation as quickly as possible – reducing the risk of infection and other issues in the process.