My veteran needs to have back surgery to remove two disks. I'm wondering how recovery will be and if he needs to stay at a rehab place?

Rehab may be a good placement if your veteran needs beefing up to regain mobility. In rehab, she/he gets therapy several times a day to improve muscle strength, balance, flexibility and function. He/She will be encouraged to work hard to get maximum ability. Otherwise, you and your veteran are must be very motivated. He/She will only go to therapy a couple times a week. He/She will need to do those exercises at home several times a day without the encouragement of staff.

I am not understanding why the doc and/or office personnel have not discussed all this with you. Isn't that part of the consent process in a scheduled surgery? Or are they just suggesting this surgery at this point? Definitely discuss recovery expectations with the surgeon/staff. This is a super big deL and they should be the ones coordinating all this for you.

I had back surgery on a blown disc 15 years ago. Recovery was 6-8 weeks with no bending, no twisting (which you do getting in and out of a car and bed, but OT should teach him how in the hospital), no lifting anything, and no sitting for more than 15 minutes in any two-hour period. I could recline or be in bed or standing, but no sitting.

I was 47, had three kids at home who helped me, a husband, and my PEO sisters bringing meals for two weeks. It took all that to get me back up and going not because I was in pain, but because I couldn't do ANYTHING.

I will say that my biggest issue after the surgery came later in the recovery when I'd get terrible back spasms at night. It took PT three months after the surgery to get rid of those, so insist on PT if the doctor doesn't prescribe it.

yes, go to rehab first. If he's doing great, then they will release him. if he needs full length of allowable time at rehab, he's already there. Once you leave hospital and go straight home, not so easy to get into the rehab.

Kselmon: My DH (Dear Husband) had herniated disk surgery and did well with no rehabilitation time. He was about ten years older than you state that your veteran is. The best of luck is wished to him.

I had surgery on my cervical spine (neck) in 2008 to fuse together 2 vertebrae and put in a metal plate to stabilize the C-3 thru C-5 vertebrae. The surgeon did the operation thru my neck, so no muscles were cut, making the recovery easier. I had no formal rehab in a SNF. I had to wear a neck brace 24/7 for 6 weeks and there was no pain involved afterward.

I had surgery on my thoracic spine (middle back) in May and it was minimally invasive, took 2 weeks to heal, with no rehab, just lifting restrictions and no bending or twisting. I still slept in my bed at night and used a grabber to pick things up with.

You give no details at all about which section of the back your husband needs surgery on, so nobody can give you their story about recovery which may apply to his. The lower back, for instance, is a different ballgame entirely than the neck or thoracic spine.

Wishing him the best of luck

My husband had a large piece break off a disk. We were surprised as he was in recovery the limitations no one told us before the surgery. One thing was no twisting. Which is hard, try to get in bed without twisting. Our solution was we had one electric recliner. My husband sat in that and slept in the recliner the first week. Currently he is sleeping on a sleep sofa we reinforced with memory foam and a featherbed. Our bed is too high for him to get in. He hopes to get in our bed next week but may need a step stool. We will use a stepper step for size and stability. Another rule was walk for 10 mins every hour. This was hard so about every 30 mins he would get up and walk the driveway which has to be level. We are going on two weeks of recovery. Today was his first car ride. Our two week follow up is in 3 days. We will know then what is still a limitation.

So ask the surgeon what the limitations are after surgery and suggestions to achieve them.

Please do a search on this phrase, "surgery to remove vertebraes."

Get second opinions if you can. Check this out: https://news.va.gov/120769/appealing-your-health-care-decisions

This is really a question for the Doctor. You may just have to wait until DH actually has the surgery and see how he does. But the Doctors and Nurses should be answering any questions you have.

You need to contact the Veteran's Administration for medical registration, Dr Orthopedic evaluation for admission. Your question doesn't addres any help from VA so this question is not clear.

I had major back surgery 8/15 and went to rehab for a week after. I live alone and no way could I have been by myself. Plus would have been tough for a non health care person / friend to take care of me. It’s a long recovery but had no other options if I wanted quality of life!

Yes, rehab will be very likely unless the PT sees him at home in the case of a really easy surgery and recovery. Play it by ear. Take it a day at a time.