TLIF surgery - one week post-op in Dubai

A tough week post MIS TLIF surgery. Was worth it, really.

Today is one week out. And I am better, but tired.

It's a Wednesday and just last week Wednesday on November 25th that I had my surgery after much to and fro. It's been a tough week. I've had ups and downs but mostly the results of the surgery have been positive and it feels pretty good that I actually went through with it.

So last week like I said I had TLIF surgery on my l4 and l5 to correct spondylothesis spinal canal stenosis as well as degenerated disc at l4 l5. The surgery was done at Saudi German Hospital here in Dubai by a team of  Korean Doctors - Dr Shim and Dr Choi from Wooridul Spine Center on Shaikh Zayad Road. The surgery was about 5 hours and it happened using a nasal fiberoptic intubation for my anesthetics. I stayed in hospital until Friday afternoon when I was discharged and I have been home resting since then.

Medicine: I am on antibiotics which is wide spectrum as well as just panadol which is a paracetamol for my pain management. I walk around half an hour to forty minutes everyday just inside the house. My first appointment with the doctor post surgery will be on Monday which is around the 11th or 12th day post op.

The pain. The intense sciatic pain down my lower back my butt thighs and legs is completely gone. I do have a lot of surgery  related pain at the incision site and around it which is on a scale of 1 to 10 around seven or eight depending on which day it is. This pain I guess as to be expected because not only have they moved the muscle as I cut through it and then curved part of the phone off and then inserted pedicle screws as well as titanium rods to try and fuse the l4 and l5 vertebrae together so pain is to be expected