Preoperative considerations

Sacroiliac joint fusion surgery is an option for patients whose sacroiliac joint pain has been refractory to conservative pain management. A good candidate for fusion surgery is one who has completed all appropriate nonsurgical management efforts, including physical therapy, intraarticular sacroiliac steroid injections, oral analgesics, and radiofrequency ablation of sacral nerve roots, without experiencing any improvement in pain. This chapter covers candidate selection, the two main surgical approaches used for this fusion surgery (open and minimally invasive), anticoagulation guidelines, and the risk of infection and complications. Before surgery it is very important to make sure the patient understands the risks of the surgery as well as the potential for success.