Board Certified Neurosurgeon Brain & Spine Care 860-889-9035
Mark Hornyak, MDBoard Certified Neurosurgeon

Patient Education

Recovery Timeline Visualizer

Explore general recovery milestones after common neurosurgical procedures.

Educational only Recovery varies. Your surgeon's instructions override general guidance.
Cervical ACDF A general recovery timeline for anterior cervical discectomy and fusion. Cervical Cervical disc replacement A general recovery timeline for cervical artificial disc replacement. Lumbar Lumbar disc replacement A general recovery timeline for lumbar total disc replacement. Lumbar Lumbar fusion A general recovery timeline for lumbar fusion. Lumbar Microdiscectomy A general recovery timeline for lumbar microdiscectomy. Lumbar Lumbar laminectomy A general recovery timeline for lumbar laminectomy. Pelvis SI joint fusion A general recovery timeline for sacroiliac joint fusion. TODO: manual citation review. Cranial Craniotomy A general recovery timeline after craniotomy. Instructions vary widely by diagnosis and operation. Peripheral nerve Carpal tunnel release A general recovery timeline for carpal tunnel release. TODO: manual citation review. Peripheral nerve Ulnar nerve decompression A general recovery timeline for ulnar nerve decompression. TODO: manual citation review.

Recovery Curve

Typical pattern

Activity Questions

General guidance
Select a question to view general guidance for this stage.

What's Normal?

Symptom guidance
This is general educational information only. If you are unsure, worsening, or concerned, contact your surgeon's office. For emergencies, call 911.
Sources / Evidence
A systematic literature review of time to return to work and narcotic use after lumbar spinal fusion using minimal invasive and open surgery techniques Xuan Wang; Benny Borgman; Simona Vertuani; Jonas Nilsson. BMC Health Services Research. 2017 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-017-2398-6 PubMed

Supports broad lumbar fusion return-to-work and postoperative narcotic-use variability.

Important

This is general educational information only. If you are unsure, worsening, or concerned, contact your surgeon's office. For emergencies, call 911.