What Makes a Successful Spine Surgery

What actually makes a spine surgery successful? Dr. Brent Kimball of DISC Neurosurgery & Spine in Lone Tree, CO challenges the standard definition. Most surgeons measure success by whether bones fused on an X-ray, but patients do not live in an X-ray. A fusion can be structurally perfect and still leave a patient with chronic pain, stiffness, headaches, and lost function. True success means moving better, hurting less, and living normally. Motion preservation surgery puts the patient — not the imaging — at the center of care. If you know someone preparing for a spinal fusion, share this video. The real goal is outcome, not bone healing.