Spinal Surgery and Disorders

spinal infection

There is a risk of spinal infection any time surgery is performed. Surgeons take every precaution to prevent infections. It occurs in less than 1% of spinal surgeries. An infection can be in the skin incision or it can spread deeper to spread around the spinal cord and the vertebrae.  A spinal infection that involves only the skin incision is considered to be superficial which is easier to treat than a deeper infection. A superficial wound infection can be treated with antibiotics and sometimes if necessary the skin stitches needs to be removed but the deeper wound infections can be very serious and will probably require additional operations to drain the infection. In worst cases, any bone graft, metal screws, or plates or any extras that were used may need to be removed