Blood sugar is absolutely essential to our ability to function and survive. When blood sugar levels increase significantly, a whole host of issues can result. Blood sugar is a big factor that your surgeon considers prior to your procedure. Maintaining healthy blood sugar levels is essential to a successful spine surgery. In this article, we are going to focus on blood sugar levels after minimally invasive spine surgery.

What is Blood Sugar & Why is it Important?

Blood sugar is a measurement of the level of glucose in your blood. Our bodies naturally regulate blood sugar levels to keep us healthy. However, certain conditions (diabetes in particular) can mess up this natural regulation of blood sugar. When blood sugar levels are too high, it can lead to severe damage to the organs, blood vessels, and other parts of the body. That’s why it is so important for diabetics to keep their blood sugar in check throughout the day. Here are some tips for keeping your blood sugar levels in control:

• Exercising everyday for at least a half hour
• Cutting down on sugar and carbohydrates
• Getting at least 8 hours of sleep at night

Blood Sugar & Spine Surgery

Monitoring and maintaining appropriate blood sugar levels is important all the time, but especially before, during, and after surgery. One of the biggest risk factors that patients worry about before and after surgery is the possibility of developing an infection after the procedure. Surgeons do everything in their power to prevent infection related to surgical procedures. This can be particularly difficult in diabetic patients, as high blood sugar levels increase the risk of wound infection after spine surgery.

The most important thing you can do to prevent wound infection and other potential issues related to high blood sugar is to follow your pre and post surgical instructions. By adhering strictly to these guidelines for keeping glucose levels in check you will significantly cut your risk of wound infection after your procedure.

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