Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

a couple things i want to add!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • a couple things i want to add!

    My dr. jumped right into the procedure info. and said it would be the kind where its the incision is not the length of the spine but rather in the front and around to the back. hesaid i would give my own blood before hand, and that there was a small risk of parpalegic but this is monitored the entire time by this electrical thing. He said surgery usually takes about 5 hrs. and hospital is about a week. No work for 2-4 months, PT for 3 months after that. And he said i would not require a brace after. Pain managment would be directly inserted ( i guess a cath.) into spine and dispenced. Mind you, this was all in a days visit. I hadn't even thought about my scloiosis in like 10 yrs. This was my first with the dr. and he was already desribing surgery. Freaked me out. Nice they had an x-ray thing onsite though.

    Stephanie
    Stephanie
    T11 to L3
    1 rib removed
    June 5, 2006

  • #2
    Wow Stephanie...that certainly is a lot to take in at a first visit! Please don't be upset by my saying this, but I find it a bit unusual that a doctor would be talking that in-depth about surgery on your first visit, then again, I don't know what your situation is (curvature and other factors) and whether surgery is your only option at this point.

    I find it unusual because in my experience, during my first visit, my surgeon took x-rays, measured the curves and then we talked about what the change in curvature meant (I also had not seen a doctor for my scoliosis in 10 years and my curves had increased by 10-15 degrees) and what could happen to my body years down the road. We talked about the possibilities of life with and without surgery. He told me that surgery wasn't immediately necessary but would eventually need to be done and that it was up to me as to when it would happen (anytime between now and 10 years from now). He also told me to go home and take all the time I needed to think about what we discussed and to discuss it with my husband and family and when I was ready to make a decision about surgery or if I had more questions about my options, to call him. He offered to sit with my husband and family to discuss any questions they might have as well. He never once mentioned any details of a surgery in that first visit. I think if he had, I would have found another doctor who was willing to take things a bit slower because I would have felt that he was pushing the issue too much for a first visit. In fact, we didn't discuss the type of detail you are describing until my visit 3 weeks prior to my surgery. Again, my situation did not require immediate surgery so I preferred the slow approach.

    Good luck!

    Comment


    • #3
      I don't want anymore details....I think??

      stephanie,
      I guess your Dr. covered all the bases & gave you details. I guess mine was more like Heidi's. He told me what my curves were(60/60) & that he could 'do it'. He said he had seen worse( but I bet he could count the 'worse' on one hand!!!) he did say 2 operations..I blanked out after that..
      I realize now that if he gave me any more details I would have fainted on the spot. I was an emotional mess & he handled it great. I'm sure I'm not the first to fall apart......Ly

      about 4 mths to go....surgery Aug. 1st ant/post...I'm a wimp so pray for me!!! http://lynnebackattack.blogspot.com

      Comment

      Working...
      X