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  • Met with Surgeon - Next Steps

    Hi Everyone,

    I met with Dr. Ananthakrishnan today and was VERY pleased with her. I was happy to learn after reading one of LindaRacine's posts that a surgeon who did a fellowship at UCSF is a great thing; that's exactly where Dr. A did her fellowship.

    What shocked me today was:

    1. Learning my height shrunk from 5'10" to 5'7"
    2. Curves are worse than what I was told recently (T53*, L52*). Dr. A said the curves are significant at T72* and L59*.
    3. I need two surgeries, posterior and 3 months later, anterior.

    Thank you everyone for your suggestions on what to ask Dr. A.

    First surgery will fuse T6 to about L3-4. Second surgery will fuse L4-5 to S1 to provide a stronger support base. I'm so glad my hubby was with me because I cannot keep all this info in my brain at the moment.

    Surgery will occur in about 6 weeks. I need to get a bone density scan tomorrow and get some medical clearances too, then I'll get an exact date.

    I must say, thanks to this forum, I'm really happy I read about double surgeries prior to meeting the surgeon today. Had I not known about double surgeries, I would have surely freaked out today.

    I keep praying that whatever God's will is, that it be done.

    Warmly,
    Doreen
    44 years old at time of surgery, Atlanta GA

    Pre-Surgery Thorasic: 70 degrees, Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 68 degrees, lost 4 inches of height in 2011
    Post-Surgery curves ~10 degrees, regained 4 inches of height

    Posterior T3-sacrum & TLIF surgeries on Nov 28, 2011 with Dr. Lenke, St. Louis
    2 rods, 33 screws, 2 cages, 2 connectors, living a new life I never dreamed of!

    http://thebionicachronicles.blogspot.com/

  • #2
    Doreen

    Glad to see that you are comfortable with her.

    Anterior can mean front or side. Cuts can be vertical, “like mine” or horizontal. They can also be vertical but offset a few inches. Access to the sacrum will mean a very low incision.

    Most A/P’s are usually front side first, “the release” then the posterior. The staging dates is something I have never figured out, mine being 2 days, some in one day, some a month or two later. Its up to the surgeon. My surgeries 2 days apart were about all that I could handle, I can’t comment on a 3 month stage. It seems that it would be easier.

    Now that we know your true cobbs, with the pain that you are in it looks like this is a necessary thing. Sometimes we have no choice, we have to do it. I was at that point also, and knowing that its necessary does help. You never have to doubt your decision, its final.

    It looks like you are on your way to having a new back! Congratulations.
    Ed
    49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
    Pre surgery curves T70,L70
    ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
    Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

    Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
    http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

    My x-rays
    http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

    http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi Ed...

      It probably varies by surgeon, but at UC, it's usually based on the patient's age and what medical issues they might have, and patient and surgeon preference. Ideally, patients are done in one day if both the patient and surgeon feel like they can handle it. If any one stage will take more than about 5-6 hours, the patients are usually staged 2-3 days apart. Patients that have a tough early recovery are usually put off for from 2 weeks to 3 months, or even longer.

      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
        Thx Linda

        I think my shoulder being broken at that time is what pushed it over the cliff. There really are no parameters when patients show up that need “extra work” (smiley face)

        I asked my shoulder surgeon about this and he told me that there would have been nothing he could have done at the time since my humeral head (arm) was completely shattered.

        Just wondering if there are any plans for a scoli conference at UCSF this summer?
        Ed
        49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
        Pre surgery curves T70,L70
        ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
        Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

        Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
        http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

        My x-rays
        http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

        http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by titaniumed View Post

          Just wondering if there are any plans for a scoli conference at UCSF this summer?
          Ed
          Yes, but haven't set the date yet. It's likely it will actually be in fall, probably October some time if I can get my act together. I'm trying to find a sponsor so that we can have a full day conference with lunch.

          --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


          • #6
            Surgery Date

            Hi Everyone,

            I have a tentative surgery date of Aug 30.



            Warmly,
            Doreen
            44 years old at time of surgery, Atlanta GA

            Pre-Surgery Thorasic: 70 degrees, Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 68 degrees, lost 4 inches of height in 2011
            Post-Surgery curves ~10 degrees, regained 4 inches of height

            Posterior T3-sacrum & TLIF surgeries on Nov 28, 2011 with Dr. Lenke, St. Louis
            2 rods, 33 screws, 2 cages, 2 connectors, living a new life I never dreamed of!

            http://thebionicachronicles.blogspot.com/

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Doreen1 View Post
              Hi Everyone,

              I have a tentative surgery date of Aug 30.



              Warmly,
              Doreen
              Great News Doreen

              Melissa
              Melissa

              Fused from C2 - sacrum 7/2011

              April 21, 2020- another broken rod surgery

              Comment


              • #8
                How are you feeling, Melissa?

                Warmly,
                Doreen
                44 years old at time of surgery, Atlanta GA

                Pre-Surgery Thorasic: 70 degrees, Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 68 degrees, lost 4 inches of height in 2011
                Post-Surgery curves ~10 degrees, regained 4 inches of height

                Posterior T3-sacrum & TLIF surgeries on Nov 28, 2011 with Dr. Lenke, St. Louis
                2 rods, 33 screws, 2 cages, 2 connectors, living a new life I never dreamed of!

                http://thebionicachronicles.blogspot.com/

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Doreen1 View Post
                  How are you feeling, Melissa?

                  Warmly,
                  Doreen

                  Thanks for asking Doreen. I am doing very well much better than last time. I tried walking today with just a cane instead of a walker. It felt good . I just went a short distance . It was tiring however

                  Where do you live?

                  Melissa
                  Melissa

                  Fused from C2 - sacrum 7/2011

                  April 21, 2020- another broken rod surgery

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Glad to hear. Do all surgery patients require cane/walker post-op?

                    Warmly,
                    Doreen
                    44 years old at time of surgery, Atlanta GA

                    Pre-Surgery Thorasic: 70 degrees, Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 68 degrees, lost 4 inches of height in 2011
                    Post-Surgery curves ~10 degrees, regained 4 inches of height

                    Posterior T3-sacrum & TLIF surgeries on Nov 28, 2011 with Dr. Lenke, St. Louis
                    2 rods, 33 screws, 2 cages, 2 connectors, living a new life I never dreamed of!

                    http://thebionicachronicles.blogspot.com/

                    Comment

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