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    Has anyone experienced not being braced after surgery? My surgeon and pulmonologist said that I could not be braced because of the breathing problems and this might prolong the recovery period. Please if anyone has any experienced with this I would like to hear what you think!
    Thank you!
    Christine

  • #2
    Hi Christine...

    It seems that MOST doctors on the West coast brace all of their adult patients post-op, but on the East coast, many don't. I'm told that the brace is used simply to remind people that they shouldn't bend or twist. If you're careful about your movements, I'm sure you'll be fine. The implants are usually secured enough to keep anything from pulling out.

    Regards,
    Linda
    Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
    Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

    Comment


    • #3
      I was not braced following my surgery (20 yrs old, close to 100% correction of 52 degree left thoracolumbar curve). I do not feel that my recovery was longer than anybody else who was braced. In fact, the woman who I refer to as my "scoliosis mentor" was amazed at how much quicker my recovery was than hers (30-something years old, two 60 deg curves) with a brace
      Blair

      Dec 15th, 2003 @ age of 20
      Posterior Fusion and CD Horizon instrumentation T2-L1.
      Surgery by Dr. Herkowitz- Beaumont Hospital of Royal Oak, Michigan
      Excellent correction of 52 degree single left thoracolumbar curve. Slight curve remains in unfused lumbar region but seems stable.
      February 5, 2005- Failed Scar Revision Surgery
      September 17, 2005- 2nd Failed Scar Revision.

      Comment


      • #4
        I wore a corsett for approx. 2 weeks post op. fused from T9-L5.

        Gail

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        • #5
          no brace

          Thank you Linda and Gail for the information. It seems more and more questions come up as I go. Linda, I noticed one time on the forum you mentioned a book or two as I remember. Please post those again and do either book talk about specifics of what one needs to prepare for in their everyday living and helpful hints. I live alone and will need to have a lot of specifics to organize ahead of time.

          Appreciatively,
          Christine

          Comment


          • #6
            Hi Christine,

            I have also thought a lot about preparing for surgery while living alone, and would be happy to correspond by email - I am at lrmb24@hotmail.com. (It turns out that my second opinion advised waiting a few years for surgery, but I had made a lot of mental preparation!) Take care ~Laura
            30y/o
            Upper curve around 55
            Lower curve around 35

            Comment


            • #7
              Hi Christine...

              In my opinion, the three best books are:

              Scoliosis Surgery The Definitive Patient Reference by David Wolpert

              The Scoliosis Sourcebook by Dr. Michael Neuwirth

              Stopping Scoliosis by Nancy Schommer

              Also, I have a list of things to help prepare for scoliosis surgery on my website at:

              http://www.scoliosislinks.com/PreparingforSurgery.htm

              Regards,
              Linda
              Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
              ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
              Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

              Comment


              • #8
                hi, christine! when it got around my kids' school that i was going to have this surgery, one of the mothers in my daughter's class called to see how they could help; surely someone will call you, too, and ask this question. ask them to bring you lunch a few times a week! as it happened, there were enough parents involved to bring lunch 3 days a week for 6 weeks and it was such a help because lunches are light things like salads and fruit and sandwiches. besides, aren't lunches "out" better than what you would make yourself at home? we found that most lunches provided two meals for me because the portions are huge and my appetite was off. this is so much easier than dinner; you don't have to heat it and you just throw the bags away. we left a cooler on our front step on lunch days so there was no having to greet the public; lunch just showed up in the cooler at 11:30 am on designated days. people will want to help you out; please let them and be specific about your needs...it works out well for everyone that way. i hope this helps....
                Sue


                Milwaukee Brace from ages 8 - 16
                T36 degrees/L56 degrees Pre-Op
                Fused T3 - S1
                Surgery done Sept. 15, 2004
                Dr. Robert G. Viere
                North Texas Spine Care @ Baylor

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                • #9
                  Hints for post op life

                  Thank you for all the helpful hints.
                  Christine

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Resource Book

                    Christine,
                    Linda's reference to David Worpert's book "Scoliosis Surgery" is excellent. I highly recommend it to anyone comtemplating or scheduled for surgery. It was invaluable to me. I recently saw where they have an online version for $9.95, I purchased my copy through Amazon.com, about $15.00 if I remember correctly. Good Luck,
                    Gayle
                    Gayle


                    November 4, 2004, 57 yo
                    Instrumented Spinal Fusion ~ T 10 -S1

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      I agree with Linda and SkiAnn about David Wolpert's book. I received mine in the mail last Wednesday night after work and finished it before going to sleep that same night...I just could not put it down! I wanted to keep reading to see what insight I was going to get on the next page.

                      I went through it with a highlighter and those little Post-It flags. I highlighted things that I want to go over with my Ortho or just things that I wanted to have my husband read and know. It really did answer a lot of questions and brought up some new ones that I would have never thought about!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Dave Wolpert's book is invaluable. I cannot recommend it enough.

                        With respect to bracing: I was told that the decision whether or not to brace post-op depends on the location of the curve (my thoracic curve was "too high" to necessitate post-op bracing).

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