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  • New to the forum

    Greetings everyone! I too have been following this forum for a month or so but just today I was given permission to post. Here goes.....I am 53 years old and have thoracolumbar scoliosis. I was diagnosed as a young teen but familiar to many the physician "back then" ordered no follow up. I have lived an active life despite pain and up until now never entertained the idea of surgery. I have been followed by scoliosis specialists for 10 years and my degree of curvature continues to advance. I have decided to pursue surgery. I am a nurse working part time in a busy NICU. I enjoy many outdoor sports as I live in the great state of Utah! My hope is to be able to continue with the activities that I enjoy, recognizing that I will have a recovery period and a loss of flexibility. My questions for this group are
    Has anyone had surgery in Utah? My surgeon is Michael Daubs MD.
    How soon (best estimate) will I be able to return to my job
    Thanks to everyone for the input, this is a wonderful forum.

  • #2
    Welcome!

    I don't have any answers to your questions, as my surgery is coming up in June. I just wanted to welcome you. Your story is so similar to mine. We are almost the same age, and I am a nurse also. I worked in L&D/post-partum/nursery until 2 years ago. I now work in an out patient clinic setting, but am hoping to go back to L&D after my surgery. This forum is a great resourse, and the people are terrific! Good Luck in your journey. Lori
    Lori in PA, 52 yrs. old
    T54/L72
    Surgery 6/7/11, T3-S1, all posterior, with pelvic anchors
    Gained 2 inches!
    Dr. Boachie, HSS, NYC
    12/10/13 Hardware Removal for infection
    Lost 2", gained PJK!

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    • #3
      Hi...

      Welcome, and congratulations on making the decision to pursue surgery. I most commonly hear that people return to work between 3-6 months. With that said, I've known people who were able to return to work within a month, and I've known people who weren't able to return for years.

      Best of luck finding a surgeon, and hope your outcome is great.

      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


      • #4
        Welcome to the Forum! You definitely will find out a great deal of info from those of us who have already undergone our surgeries and little tips to get you through along the way. I can't really give you an answer as to when you will be back at work as I was homebound when I had my surgery. I know some who have gone back at 8-10 weeks depending on how much surgery they had undergone. I can say for myself it took me a full six months to be left on my own but I also had a one year old at the time. It was three months before the doctor would even let the baby sit on my lap and I could barely lift him at six months.

        I also was very fortunate that I had my mother in law live with us for 6 months to help us out. Without her we couldn't have gotten through those six months. My husband was finishing up his college degree and then got station on a ship and was underway. For me, even being on my own at 6 months post-op taking care of my 1 1/2 year old and 2 boys that play hockey was extremely tough and exhausting. It's definitely baby steps along the way and staying focussed on what you can do vs. what you can't is the most positive way you can look at things. Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to ask, hopefuly you'll get some good feed back here!
        Susan

        Diagnosed at 10, Boston brace from 11-13 yrs old.
        50* Lumbar w/ 5 centimeter shift to the left and slight rib hump...
        Surgery Date: April 15 and April 22, 2009
        X-LIF approach for disc repair L5,L4,L3,L2
        Posterior Approach for fusions L5-T5
        Dr. Fox @ Naval Medical Center Portsmouth
        Nice and straight now!!!!!

        Comment


        • #5
          Hello and welcome! The whole scoliosis/surgery thing is all really new to me so I can't advise on anything really but wanted to say hello and that there's lots of people here who are very knowledgeable and are willing to share their experiences.
          Son 14 y/o diagnosed January 20th. 2011 with 110* Curve
          Halo Traction & 1st. surgery on March 22nd. 2011
          Spinal Fusion on April 19th. 2011

          Dr. Krajbich @ Shriners Childrens Hospital, Portland Oregon



          http://tinyurl.com/Elias-Before
          http://tinyurl.com/Elias-After

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          • #6
            Hello and welcome! You will find wonderful folks here, support, encouragement and a wealth of information. I hope someone here can help you with your particular questions. I work in healthcare but am not a nurse. I just returned to work after 5 months for 20 hours a week for now, & it is not easy even sitting in a chair! All I can say is stay home as long as you can! I am so glad I stayed home as long as I did but I'm thinking I should have stayed home another month. The stress of being back in the office, the lack of compassion from management, and my physical discomfort has proven to be maybe to much for me and I may have to leave or drastically reduce my hours.

            What are your curves? Have you scheduled a surgery date yet?

            Good luck to you!
            Laurie
            Age 57
            Posterior fusion w/thoracoplasty T2-L3 Oct 1, 2010
            Thoracic curve corrected from 61* to 16*
            Lumbar curve, unknown measurement
            Disfiguring back hump GONE!!
            Dr Munish Gupta
            UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, CA

            Comment


            • #7
              Welcome to the forum! I'm sure you will find all the answers you need, although I don't have any! How far have your curves progressed?
              All the best,

              B
              Billy
              32 year old male from UK
              Fused at 25yrs
              62 degree thoratic curve
              45 degree lumbar curve
              Fused T3-L1 on 3rd Jan 2012

              Comment


              • #8
                Thanks to all that have welcomed me as a newbie! It's funny how I have had scoliosis all these years and do not know one adult who has had surgery. My curves are Thoracic c 36 degrees with a thoracolumbar curve at 55 degrees.These have progressed a degree a year for the last 10 years. When I met with my doc a month ago he was leaning towards fusion down to my pelvis-posterior approach. I will have an MRI soon to determine the plan. One more question-how long is the hospital stay and does anyone go to a rehab facility before going home?
                Nan
                Age 53
                Anticipating surgery July 2011

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                • #9
                  Welcome from me too! It is odd isn't it so few or any we know who have had surgery. I knew one--friend of a friend and that was it. I was in the hospital 8 days and rehab 8 days. Everyone is very diffefrent however. Hope you get help here with your decisions. Janet
                  Janet

                  61 years old--57 for surgery

                  Diagnosed in 1965 at age of 13--no brace
                  Thoracic Curve: 96 degrees to 35 degrees
                  Lumbar Curve: 63 degrees to 5 degrees
                  Surgery with Dr. Lenke in St. Louis--March 30, 2009
                  T-2 to Pelvis, and hopefully all posterior procedure.

                  All was posterior along with 2 cages and 6 osteotomies.

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