Surgery of any type has the potential for complications. During the previous several years, spinal surgery has become safer and more effective because of the advances in technology, imaging, minimally invasive surgical techniques, and materials used. Innovations and advancements in the industry lead to corresponding improvements in treating spinal issues like slipped discs, spinal stenosis, and spondylosis. The fact is that all the surgical procedures are the main reason to get serious risks. Still, you can decrease the chances with efficient advice, so we have prepared some helpful information that can make your TOPS spinal surgery recovery time more smooth and convenient. Moreover, blood clots are rare after spinal surgery and are certainly much less common than after common hip and knee replacement surgeries.
Spinal Surgery Details
If you are planning a back surgery, it is necessary to consider all possible complications that can occur, and blood clots are one of the most significant. Therefore, we recommend you discuss all the preventive steps with your healthcare provider to reduce the risks of developing blood clots. The preventive measures involve using special stockings or mechanical pumps that squeeze your legs while in a hospital, getting up, and moving around as soon as possible after the surgery. Before the spinal surgery, you need to maintain a healthy lifestyle with the help of proper nutrition and hydration, avoiding alcohol and tobacco products. Moreover, if a patient has a severe spinal disorder and spinal cord injury, this person may be placed on medication to thin the blood for a particular period.
Furthermore, with the help of innovative invasive spinal techniques, the risk of a blood clot is low. In case of problems with swelling, shortness of breath, or other similar conditions, you need to contact a doctor as soon as possible. If a deep vein thrombosis is diagnosed, it can be treated with medications that help the body dissolve the clot. The professionals recommend being active and mobile as soon as possible after surgery.
Pre-surgery meeting
During the pre-surgery meeting, you need to discuss many factors that can lead to a surgical complication, such as:
- overall health;
- advanced age;
- genetic blood-clotting disorders;
- use of birth control pills;
- hormone replacement therapy;
- previous surgical experience;
- smoking status;
- coexisting medical conditions;
- osteoporosis.
Any of the mentioned conditions are rare during the operation, and you need to prepare and discuss all the circumstances leading to them.
Blood clots inside the vein
Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) occurs when a blood clot forms in a deep vein. Another type of blood clot is Pulmonary Embolism which is a blood clot that breaks free from somewhere in the body and travels through the vein. If the clot reaches the lungs, it can block blood flow between them and the heart. A pulmonary embolism is a serious condition that can have dire consequences.
Patients preparing for different surgical procedures, especially surgery involving the pelvis or the lower extremities, are at higher risk of developing blood clots inside the veins in the legs. After the surgery, the body’s clotting mechanism is very active because it tries to stop the bleeding caused by the surgery. Injury to the blood vessels around the surgical site can also lead to blood clotting.
Warning signs
Clots can appear in the large veins, and it has a high tendency to grow and extend up into veins in the thigh. There can be such situations when the clots can reach the veins of the pelvis.
The warning sign of a possible blood clot involves:
- throbbing or cramping pain;
- swelling;
- redness and warmth in a leg or arm;
- sudden breathlessness;
- sharp chest pain;
- regular cough or coughing with blood.
When a person notices some of the mentioned warning signs, it is necessary to be hospitalized and carefully monitored for DVT and symptoms of pulmonary embolism.
The most efficient way to prevent vein thrombosis after spinal surgery is to avoid sitting still for too long. The patients need to walk and move as soon as they can. It improves circulation and prevents the formation of harmful clots during the process. Following all the pre-op and post-op instructions, a patient can advance and fasten the healing process and prevent many other complications during or after the surgery.
Let’s recap all the mentioned information about preventing blood clots after surgery.
- Discuss your medical history with a healthcare professional. If you have a history of blood clots or taking drugs, you must inform a doctor.
- Blood disorders can lead to clotting during or after the surgery.
- Follow all the doctor’s recommendations. For example, your doctor may prescribe warfarin or heparin, used to treat excessive blood clotting.
- In case of a high risk of clots, you will be monitored with serial ultrasound scans. Clot-dissolving medications called thrombolytics are used in case of increased risk of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis.
- Monitor the warning signs, especially shortness of breath and chest pain. If any of the mentioned conditions happens, you need to contact a doctor asap.
- Live a healthy life. A healthy lifestyle may help you to prevent a high risk of clots. After the surgery, a nurse will help you out of bed as soon as you are able. Walking and moving around improves blood circulation and allows you to prevent blood clots.
After surgery, you need to be confident that you move around as much as possible. Your healthcare provider will recommend you to use compression stockings, preventing leg swelling.
Conclusion
Spine surgery has the potential for complications even though it is developed using minimally invasive techniques. If you are planning a spine surgery, one of the first questions should be about the possible risks and preventive measures during the operation. A healthcare professional will consult you and explain all potential risks of the specific back or neck treatment and the possible complications during or after the surgery. The general problems of spine surgery will involve bleeding, blood clots, infection, lung problems, and persistent pain.