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Back Surgery Infections

For people suffering from back pain, surgery can be an option. But back surgery is a delicate procedure, and patients must follow post-op instructions carefully. Not doing so can result in further surgery or permanent damage to the spine. Spinal infections are caused when the vertebral columns, the discs, the spinal cord covering or the space around the cord become infected. This can be caused by bacteria or fungus.

  1. Symptoms

    • Symptoms of infection after back surgery include chills, headache, fever, tenderness and redness at the wound site, pain, a stiff neck and drainage from the wound. There may also be more weakness, tingling or numbness in the limbs than before the infection. Symptoms range from very mild to very severe.

    Diagnosis

    • Spine infections can be diagnosed by cultures taken to determine the type of bacteria or fungus causing the problem. Many times, the doctor may order blood cultures to be taken to make a positive diagnosis. These may include a white blood cell count, a C-reactive protein count and other tests. Sometimes it is necessary to also have a needle culture done. This is done with guidance from X-rays, and a local anesthetic is used at the entry site.

    Treatment

    • Treatment of spinal infections includes a general cleansing of the surgical wound site and reclosing. Antibiotics will be prescribed to fight the infection.

    Considerations

    • Bacteria and infected tissue may need to be washed away by means of additional surgery to cut away affected areas. Infection can cause the spine to become unstable, and additional surgery may be needed for this.

    Warning

    • Some infections after back surgery will require even more surgery and a long-term antibiotics schedule to completely heal. Your doctor will typically follow up with more blood tests to be sure the infection is still responding to therapy. Although your blood test levels may be higher in the first few weeks after surgery, they will return to normal soon. If they fail to return to normal as expected, this may indicate that the infection is still present. If this happens, your physician may prescribe a stronger antibiotic.

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