Has anyone who has had an anterior only fusion had to have a second surgery to add more screws to the posterior spine? My surgeon thinks that adding more screws might help to stabilize the L5-S1 level that I had fused two years ago.

Since the surgery, my leg pain had been relieved, however, in the past few months, I had a recurrence of leg & foot pain (cramping, spasms, burning, tingling, pins/needles, etc) that seemed to follow the same dermatome pathways (L5/S1). I've always had SI joint dysfunction and thought maybe it was just worsening. I tried steroid injections, which had always brought me at least six months of relief from SI joint pain, but those didn't really work--in fact the worst of my pain started after the second of three injections.

Is it possible that my leg/foot pain could be from the SI joint problems and not from the (lack of) pedicle screws in my posterior spine?