? rod removal, injury caused, no scoliosis

[kerryb]

my husband has 2 rods in his back, fused from T2 - T12. he has slight discomfort and is considering having them removed. does anyone have any insight on risks/benefits of removal. thanks.

[sweetness514]

I wouldn't get them removed, as he can have pseudoarthritis later on(failing fusion) and the curve might come back. Exercises such as light weights and swimming helped me a lot, since building muscles around the hadware helps holding it. Just like having a bit of fat instead of being too skinny.

[marmyte]

are you sure it's the rods causing discomfort? what i mean is has he had xrays recently and a diagnosis from a doctor? i think part of it depends on how long ago he had surgery (and what kind of instrumentation he has). some of the systems used 30 or so years ago can cause problems eventually and need checking out

[LindaRacine]

Hi Kerry...

You might want to do a search on rod removal (see Search icon above), as there have been several other discussions on the topic.

I've known several people who have had their rods removed. Some say it had no affect on their pain, while others say they knew immediately that the pain had been relieved. While it's surgery, it's usually a relatively easy surgery for the patient with a quick recovery, especially compared to the initial spine surgery.

You can find an abstract for the only study I know about here:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11013496&query_hl=1

Regards,
Linda

[Shllbug]

Im no expert by any means, but I wouldn't get them removed unless it was suggested by a doctor after many many X-rays and consultations...I talked to a woman who had the surgery over 30 years ago and she was having severe pain in her spine and couldnt figure out why...They came to find out that over all this time her nerves had grown around the rods and were practically pinching each other and causing a lot of pain..She had to have the surgery re-done after all that time...They wouldnt risk keeping the rods out permanently because of the possibility of the curve coming back and causing more damage..Ho bad was your husbands curve before his surgery?