What to Expect for Spine Surgery?

The preparation for spinal surgery begins the moment you decide on surgery. It is imperative that you give up cigarette smoking and begin a regimen of healthy eating and walking that will allow for the greatest chance of healing and recovery.

On the day of surgery you will report to the pre-op area and meet your surgical team. Dr. Hatef, your anesthesiologist, the nursing team, and the other members of the surgical team will meet you in the pre-op area . Often, your anesthesiologist will give you a small amount of sedating medicine to relieve any anxiety before going back to the operating room.

Once you go back to the operating room, there will be a brief safety check before the anesthesia team lets you drift off to sleep. The surgical team will position for surgery based on the approach you and Dr. Hatef have chosen: operating on the back, the front, or the side of the spine.

Once surgery is completed, you will wake up in the recovery room. This is when the real work begins. Dr. Hatef believes in early physical therapy and mobilization to increase blood flow and start the healing process. Depending on how big your surgery is, your hospitalization will range from a same-day surgery to 4 to 7 days in the hospital for very large deformity surgeries.

After you are discharged from the hospital, you will continue the healing process with a walking regimen. Dr. Hatef will prescribe pain medication when you are discharged, but it is important to take only what you need and to stop taking strong pain medicines as quickly as possible. You may have a drain in your back after surgery, and sometimes he will go home with a drain . In that case, it is important to keep your drain site clean and to accurately record its output.

Dr. Hatef will see you in the office at two weeks and six weeks to obtain x-rays and make sure the incision is healing. He is always available by phone should you need to talk to him outside office hours.