What are the indications for spinal fusion in patients suffering from chronic low back pain?
An: For patients with primary axial back pain without radiculopathy, nonoperative treatment should be given as long as possible, and fusion should be considered a last resort. Patient selection is critical for a successful outcome. In general, patients with psychological, socioeconomic, and legal issues do poorly following spinal fusion. Patients who are working and motivated to go back to work do better. Multi-level fusion gives poorer results than one- or two-level fusion. Diskogenic low back pain is a clinical diagnosis; however, MRI and diskography should correlate with the patient?s symptoms. Patient selection for spinal fusion for chronic low back pain is both art and science. Will spinal fusion still be a valid option for the management of back pain in 20 years? An: Spinal fusion will be a valid option for the management of back pain in >20 years, as some patients have chronic low back pain due to structural abnormalities such as spondylolisthesis, and many patients have low bac
