Removing the catheter after surgery is a very quick and painless procedure. Once the anesthetic wears off and you are wide awake and alert, you'll be able to put your contacts back in. The usual post operative course is that you'll be sitting up in bed the first day after surgery, up in a chair the second day, and up walking on the third to fourth day. Once you are able to sit in a chair, your parents will be able to take you out of the room in a wheelchair. You will probably start physical therapy on the fourth or fifth day after surgery.
Most patients require one or two days of physical therapy prior to leaving the hospital.
The length of the incision depends on the amount of the spine to be fused The longer the area of spinal fusion, the longer the incision. In some patients it can increase to four or five millimeters' depending on healing. The incision goes through various changes in color during the healing period. It will gradually decrease in size over a period of six months to one year after surgery. We usually recommend that you keep your surgical incision site protected during the first year after surgery to allow for good healing.