Yes and no! There are characteristics that overlap between the postoperative pain of these two procedures, but this is not dependent on whether the incision for the hip graft harvest is separate or not.
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Yes, the bone graft site is more painful.
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Yes.
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Most patients can distinguish between the pain generated from the procedure and the bone harvesting.
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Well initially you probably won't be able to tell the difference, because you will be having the pain from all of the incisions. But the incision over the spine heals very quickly. The bone graft can cause some soreness that can last for some time.
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Yes, a patient can typically tell the difference between the pain associated with the fusion surgery and the bone harvesting surgery.
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Most patients are able to tell the difference in those pains by location and the tenderness at the site of the bone graft harvest site.
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The area where the bone is harvested from your hip will be painful whether the surgeon removes the bone from the same incision or a separate incision. The additional skin incision, however, can cause some additional pain.
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Bone graft site pain is usually centered over the harvest site on the back of the pelvis. It is often perceived to be in a different area (left or right of midline) from surgical pain (usually midline). Some patients cannot distinguish between the two areas of pain and it feels like one large area of pain.
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Some patients can, and others cannot. The more important issue is whether or not persistent pain after a spine operation is related to the bone-graft site or not. The source of the pain is often difficult to determine.
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Pain from a bone graft is specific to the side where the bone is taken from and can typically be differentiated from pain secondary to the spine operation.
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Sometimes it is possible to tell the difference in pain, but not always. The bone graft donor site pain is typically only on one side and may be lower than the typical back pain.
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More than likely you will be able to tell the difference because the pain from the surgery is usually more near the spine in the middle whereas the hip is more to the side. Many times you do have some pain in the hips area, more so than the incision.
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Yes, generally, there is pain over the hip area that relates to harvesting the bone even when there is not a separate incision.
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For some patients, the pain at each site is clearly distinguishable either because it is perceived in a different location, is of a different quality, improves at a different rate or is improved or intensified by different activities. However, for most patients the pain is often indistinguishable due to its proximity to the spine.
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You may be able to distinguish the two separate pains.
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Some patients are able to differentiate between the two pains, whereas others are not. There will be irritation in each surgical area as well as an accumulation of blood from the procedures.
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