What should you know about PEEK cage for lumbar fusion?

PEEK is a medical polymer used to make some spinal cages. During fusion, the surgeon removes selected disc material, places the cage in the disc space, and may add bone graft material. Screws and rods can provide extra stability while the vertebrae heal together.

The cage can help restore space between vertebrae and may support the opening around a nerve. The reason for surgery may include spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, instability, or persistent symptoms after other care. A PEEK cage is not the same treatment as an artificial disc replacement, which aims to preserve movement.

Use the walking, bending, lifting, and sitting instructions given by your surgical team. Keep follow-up appointments so symptoms, wound healing, implants, and bone healing can be assessed. Post-operative rehabilitation may start with walking and gentle functional practice before progressing to trunk and leg conditioning.

Avoid smoking or nicotine if your clinician advises this, because it can interfere with bone healing. Report new symptoms rather than changing medication or activity limits yourself. Ask when you may drive, work, lift, and return to exercise.

Get prompt medical advice for fever, wound drainage, increasing redness, worsening back pain, or new leg pain. Seek urgent care for new bowel or bladder control problems, numbness around the saddle area, rapidly worsening leg weakness, or severe breathing difficulty.

Ask why fusion is recommended, what the cage and fixation are expected to accomplish, how bone healing will be checked, and which activities are restricted. Discuss alternatives, including non-operative care or artificial disc replacement, when they are clinically relevant.