What Is Non-Instrumented Lumbar Fusion?

Lumbar fusion is a surgery that permanently joins two or more vertebrae in your lower back. In non-instrumented lumbar fusion, surgeons forgo screws, cages or other hardware that can help the vertebrae join together.

Basic Procedure

• For non-instrumented lumbar fusion, surgeons first collect small pieces of bone from a bone bank, your pelvis or another part of your body. Next, they graft these pieces between your vertebrae, which fuses the vertebrae together.

Time Frame

• Non-instrumented spinal fusion lasts from 2 to 12 hours, depending on the type and extent of the procedure. At the earliest, evidence of healing appears in X-rays six weeks later.

Effects

• According to the Mayo Clinic, non-instrumented lumbar fusion patients lose flexibility in their spine and require physical therapy. The surgery also causes "considerable" discomfort and pain.

Benefits

• Non-instrumented lumbar fusion saves both money and agony. Screws, cages, wires and other implants increase the cost of surgery, and R.A. Deyo, A. Nachemson and S.K. Mirza reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2004 that non-instrumented fusion, in general, causes fewer complications.

Considerations

• Deyo, Nachemson and Mirza stated that spinal fusion surgeries are overused and may, in fact, provide little relief for certain medical conditions, such as degenerative disk disease.