Joint Fusion

The surgeon will make an incision, then scrape away all damaged tissue from the joint. The surgeon will then place a small piece of bone between the two ends of your joint. Typically, this small piece of bone will be taken from a pelvic bone, heel, or just below the knee. It could also come from a bone bank. Next, they’ll use metal plates, screws, or wires to close the space within the joint, allowing the joint to fuse as it heals.

General anesthesia is most common for this procedure. But regional anesthetics—spinal, epidural, or regional—are also possibilities depending on which joints are being fused.

In general, severe complications from total joint fusion are rare. After this surgery, you can expect to lose some range of motion and feel stiffness in your joint.

Some of the possible side effects include nausea and vomiting, dry mouth, sore throat, muscle aches, headache, bruising (from the IV), itching, shivering and feeling cold, difficulty urinating, and sleepiness. In older patients, memory loss and temporary confusion are possible.

If your doctor recommends joint fusion surgery and you don’t have it, pain from the damaged joint could continue to decrease your range of movement, affecting your ability to move and complete simple, everyday tasks. That will impact your overall health, making your joint problem worse. And the longer you wait, the more your joint may deteriorate.

TO COME

You can always get a second or third opinion, but it isn’t required.

Your health history will be compiled and available to the team before, during, and after surgery. If you’re a Hancock Health patient, we will be able to access your records within our system. If you aren’t, we will work with your doctors to get the necessary information.

Your surgical team will evaluate the situation and help you make a choice that’s right for you and your health. Temporary treatments might be used if your surgery is rescheduled.

Consult the Price Transparency Tool at HancockRegionalHospital.org for an idea of how much joint fusion surgery might cost.

Medicare parts A and B will cover the cost of joint fusion surgery, but it’s important for your doctor to indicate that the surgery is medically necessary.

You’ll probably be instructed not to eat anything after midnight on the day of your surgery, and you might also be told to stop taking certain medications or dietary supplements.

You’ll arrive several hours before your surgery and be escorted to the preoperative waiting area.You’ll remove all of your clothing and jewelry, and put on a hospital gown. (Your valuables will be placed in a secure area or may be given to a family member.) You’ll sign any necessary paperwork and a preoperative nurse will take your vital signs, review your medications, and answer any questions.You’ll meet your anesthesiologist and the members of your surgery team. They will mark the location of your surgery on your body. An I.V. (intravenous line) will be placed in your hand or arm, so medications—including general anesthesia—can be administered. If you’re using a different kind of anesthesia, you’ll receive an injection.When it’s time for your surgery, you will be wheeled into the operating suite on a stretcher.

In addition to the surgeon, you have an anesthesiologist, who handles your anesthesia, nurses—some of them specialize in working with patients and others assist the surgeon—and support staff, who get you checked in and out, compile your records, and more. They all work together, performing their individual jobs, so the procedure is as successful as possible.

Anything you’ll need for an overnight stay, including a change of underwear, a sweatshirt, glasses or contacts, headphones, and your medications.

You’ll breathe oxygen through a mask and your team will track your vital signs as the surgery is performed.

Joint fusion surgery typically takes one to three hours.

The length of a hospital stay depends on each patient’s individual needs, a more simple joint fusion of a finger or toe is typically outpatient, and you can return home the same day. A fusion of the spine is more invasive and complex and may require you to stay at the hospital longer. 

You’ll wake up from surgery in the recovery room and, as you start to regain feeling in your body, you’ll receive pain medication. After leaving the recovery room, you’ll be taken to your hospital room where you will be able to see friends or family who came with you.

You’ll be able to talk to your surgeon immediately after your procedure, while you’re in the recovery room.

In most cases, patients receive pain medication immediately following surgery.

You may be prescribed pain medication, anticoagulants, and/or other symptom-reducing medications.

Make sure you’ll have help with everyday tasks, such as cooking, showering, and doing laundry. If you live alone, our associates can help you find a temporary caretaker.

Our associates will help you arrange the postoperative care you’ll need.

Your stitches or staples will likely be removed during your first postoperative appointment with your surgeon, about two weeks after surgery. There will be a scar where the incision was made.

Change your dressing daily, starting two days after you leave the hospital. Don’t scrub the incision area. If you have steri-strips over your incision, they will fall off on their own within about two weeks.You may remove your dressing and shower two days after your surgery if there is no drainage from your incision. Carefully pat the incision dry after your shower and reapply the dressing.For about two weeks, don’t submerge your incision in water by taking a bathtub bath or getting in a pool or hot tub. When the incisions are completely healed, feel free to resume those activities.