Bending X-rays

[sccrm08]

Hi All,

I had my pre-op with the surgeon and we should be all set to go on the 23 of May. He had my bending x-rays redone and they showed the top curve is not as stiff as they thought. When you all had bending x-rays done, how did they do them? The first time I had them done, I was standing and this time they had my lay down on the floor. When I went to see the surgeon I was laughing and told him, his PA and Nurse I have had lots of x-rays done over the years and that was the first time they asked me to lay on the floor.

Also, he said he is going to do the surgery all posterior instead of A and P. He still said 10 hours for the surgery, which scares me a little.

More Later,
Patty

[amae28]

My bending x-rays were done laying on a table, but i'm pretty sure either way they do them is alright... My top curve only corrected about 50% but the bottom curve corrected to 4 degrees... prolly cause my top curve is the structural one

[KleinJ]

bending x rays

After looking at my bending xrays, my doctor has decided to do a posterior procedure and correct my just my lower curve. I am somewhat relieved because I'll now have one not two surgeries. Does the compensatory curve naturally improve? I'll be fused T10-L4.

My x rays were done on a table.

Jody

[MadeinMelb]

After seeing my bending x-rays the doctor confirmed he would just fuse T5 to L1 - the lumbar curve is slight and should correct itself. He is still going to do anterior and posterior but I didn't think that this was related to the length of fusion or number of curves being fixed. I thought it was to do with mobility - loosening up prior to the fusion.
Gen

[Shari]

I guess I do repeat myself often on here, but I'm still amazed how each of us are treated so differently.

On my bending xrays my lumbar curve didn't change but my thorasic was very flexible, that's why I had 5 discs removed in the lumbar area, but I was still fused from T-1 to L-5. My doctor told me it would be best for me to go all the way up because eventually I would need additional surgery.

He told me that the areas that weren't fused would be at great risk in time, for additional surgery because of those areas taking a lot of the stress. Of course if I trusted him enough to do this to me, I had to trust his opinion!!!

Because of the long fusion, I had a rough recovery, and there has been times that I have wondered if I made the right decision, because it took me so long to recover. But I also think, would I want to have it done again???

Although I see how well Lynne is doing in such a short period of time, and I wonder if I made a mistake. Who really knows!!! We are all different, and I guess we have to trust the doctor we have choosen.

Lynne and I are the same age, and I see how fast she recovered compared to my recovery.

Shari

[CHRIS WBS]

I hear you Shari. I myself have wondered if some surgeons have an inclination to "over fuse". The surgeons I saw in Chicago recommend a long fusion for me from T-2 to the sacrum with pelvic fixation. I do recall now that I did have some bending film taken last fall at Dr. Gupta's office and I remember him saying that he thought good cosmesis was achievable and my fusion may be able to be stopped at L5. Obviously, the other surgeons did not agree, but then they did not see the bending film. Dr. Bridwell in St. Louis recommended starting the fusion at T9 and said that I would most definitely require fusion to the sacrum with pelvic fixation. But then he also added that I might have to have the fusion extended upward at some time in the future.

I guess on the positive side you at least don't have to worry about going in for more surgery in the future to have your fusion extended.

Chris

[lelc2002@yahoo]

Hi---happened to see this post....
I am fused T-11 to L-5 & perhaps this smaller fusion aided me in a faster recovery & more flexibility. I still have slow days...like today since I over did it the last few days!
It's true, we have to trust that our surgeons make the right decisions on where to fuse. I was originally put down on the charts as a T-2 to sacrum. But by pre-op, they were looking at just the lower half/new method. Although I do recall it all depended on how far they could move me over & get the correction they were looking for. If not, they would have to fuse up to T-2. I had pretty poor bending x-rays so I was lucky they could do it!
Ly-

[CHRIS WBS]

Oh, one other point, Shari. You may still be in the recovery stage from your huge surgery. I spoke to two women this past week who are members of the Chicago Chapter scoliosis support group who I met last year. Both women underwent 30-hour and 19-hour surgeries, respectively, at ages 60 and 49. They both questioned whether they made the right decisions, but now five years out, they look back with no regrets; and they both have very long fusions.

Chris

[Shari]

Hi Chris,

You know that I am 47 now and had my surgery at 45, I wanted to do it while I felt I was still young enough to have a good recovery, even knowing that my long fusion would take 2 years before I would start to feel like my old self again. And I honestly keep feeling me coming back as the months go on.

I still have good days and bad days, but the good one's out weigh the bad one's now. It was hard to be patient throughout the recovery. And even though I had a rough recovery, and still have some minor problems, I am at the point now that I am so glad I did it!!!

The older we are the harder it is, when we have the longer fusions, but I'm glad I got it done then, as apposed to having to go through another one to fix the the problems that would come later with a shorter fusion.

I certainly hoped that I would have been a canidate for a much shorter fusion, but I trusted my doctor, and I'm glad I did.

My biggest problem now is that my right rod is slightly longer than the left one and when I feel any kind of stress, where that shoulder muscle conrtacts, I have a great deal of pain. But my doctor said it would be easy to go in and trim it off. My only problem is that I am in the process of a divorce and I will no longer have insurance.

I just remember how much I suffered before the surgery and what a difference it is now!!!

Shari

[CHRIS WBS]

Hi Shari,

If your surgery was so rough at age 45, I can only imagine what it would do to me at my age with the monstrous surgery(s) I would require.

I noticed that Lynne made reference to Dr. Boachie using the new method on her and I recall a comment about Dr. Akbarnia saying that thery are finding out that a shorter fusion can accomplish that same thing that a long fusion does. Hmmmm. An east coast and a west coast surgeon. Just as I said in an earlier post, I think these doctors are more progressive.

Chris