How the infection is being treated

The first thing they need to do to treat the infection is remove all the metal in my back.

During the operation itself they will go in through the same scar, remove every screw and then both the rods.  They will take biopsies of bone from around each screw which will then be sent to the lab to be tested.  It will take about a week for the tests to be conclusive but after that they should know what treatment I need to kill off the infection entirely; there is a different treatment for each bacteria.

If they did the biopsies of bone now, without removing the metal, then even if they treated the infection, the bacteria could still remain.  This is because the bacteria can survive in the biofilm on metal and so, in order to guarantee that all the infection in the body is completely wiped out, they must remove all the metal.  If they didn't then bacteria could survive in the biofilm and launch a new attack.

It is just a case of having the operation now, and finding out what I need to have next.  I am getting closer every day...