thanks for posting, was your foraminotomy at L5 S1 or just above it? My current fusion is cervical, thus the vertabre and discs below it take all of the pressure from the fusion above, I worry about instability of the area and if it will be able to hold up? The surgeon actually wants to go in and take my current fusion out and then do an anterior and posterior fusion from C4 to T4 Basically I would be a head on a stick. I asked for this to be done instead, and he agreed.
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Anesthesia is always a potential risk for complications during surgery. Other possible complications following a foraminotomy are: thrombophlebitis (bloodclots), infection, nerve damage, and ongoing pain.
I haf a foraminotomy done along with my l5/s1 fusion surgery on feb 22nd of this year. Lots of info on the web about it, I just type foraminotomy and pull up tons of informative websites and articles!! Its common to be done with fusion surgeries if one has severe foraminal stenosis. I'm glad I had mine done to enlarge the holes where my spinal nerves roots exit the spinal canal. Foraminotomy is often combined with laminotomy and discectomy to decompress nerves. Hope this helps!:)