pelvic surgery

[Preciouzbaby]

Im a female 22 yrs old I just had an accident on march 14 2009 i had to get internal fixation a screw put in my sacroiliac joint. I want to know if i can get another surgery to take it out? because im having a lot of pain

[Preciouzbaby]

i cant walk right..im in so much pain. i have an appointment on jun 30th im hoping they can take the screw out

[Tuckamore]

Hello and welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am so very sorry to heat about your accident and pain.

I have severe and debilitating pain from SIJ Dysfunction. I have done a lot of research on the treatments and options available for this condition. Surgery is the very last approach to ease the pain of SIJ pain and disease. I assume yours was injured in the accident and some astute physician recognized the injury. Excellent, it is often missed and under diagnosed.

Mine is from a MVA but it was missed and I went years undiagnosised. My pain is constant and severe and often indescribable along with the sciatica. I know what you are talking about. I have never seriously considered surgery. It is a risky surgery and in most facilities the odds for a "cure" or even significant pain reduction is extremely slim. Screws back out, infection rates are high and the position of perfectly approximating the two surfaces are of paramount importance and even by the best of surgeons, extremely difficult.

Some complications possible with SI joint fusion include: Nerve Damage, it may be permanent. It can result in chronic pain some numbness and weakness.
Pain may persistent as not all operations are successful. Some can actually make the pain and situation worse. Hardware can break, if screws used for fixation of the fusion do not work, hardware removal and an additional surgery may be required. The screws may have been placed incorrectly without the surgeon even knowing it during surgery. The screws may also move after surgery and begin to "back out" or break. One of the main causes of  breaking is that the fusion did not heal.  

Can they be removed? Much will depend on the success or non-success of the procedure, your healing progress, your pain and your physician. Even if the screw is removed do not count on this relieving your pain, much will depend on the condition/health/strength of your SIJ.

I have not personally know a patient that underwent SIJ surgical repair. I will be extremely interested in hearing your progress and outcome. Please let us know how you are doing. I will look forward to your updates. If you have additional questions please feel free to ask. Good luck and take care, Tuck