Spinal fusion, also called spondylodesis or spondylosyndesis, is a surgery performed by orthopaedic surgeons or neurosurgeons that joins two or more vertebrae.

[1] This procedure can be performed at any level in the spine (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, or sacral) and prevents any movement between the fused vertebrae.

[2] Additional hardware (screws, plates, or cages) is often used to hold the bones in place while the graft fuses the two vertebrae together.

[4] In severe cases, this pressure can cause neurologic deficits, like numbness, tingling, bowel/bladder dysfunction, and paralysis.

[6] The thoracic spine is more immobile, so most fusions are performed due to trauma or deformities like scoliosis, kyphosis, and lordosis.

[11] These techniques use advanced image guidance systems to insert rods/screws into the spine through smaller incisions, allowing for less muscle damage, blood loss, infections, pain, and length of stay in the hospital.

In general, there is a higher risk of complications in older people with elevated body mass index (BMI), other medical problems, poor nutrition and nerve symptoms (numbness, weakness, bowel/bladder issues) before surgery.

There are three main time periods where complications typically occur: Recovery following spinal fusion is extremely variable, depending on individual surgeon's preference and the type of procedure performed.

[6] Some patients can go home the same day if they undergo a simple cervical spinal fusion at an outpatient surgery center.

[8] In 2019, the news channel WTOL-TV broadcast an investigation, "Surgical implants raising contamination concerns", uncovering a dossier of scientific evidences that current methods of processing and handling spinal implants are extremely unhygienic and lacks quality control.

A petition was filed by the lead investigator, Aakash Agarwal, to rectify this global public health hazard of implanting contaminated spinal devices in patients.