Skylar's surgery

[mel48315]

Hi everyone. Skylar had her surgery on June 12th and was in the hospital for over a month. She has two rods and is fused from T-3 to L-4....and is 2" taller! She managed through the surgery well and at the last minute before surgery I was informed that with this surgery there is a lot of blood loss...and a drop in blood pressure could leave someone having this surgery BLIND! I have never read that in this forum. Thank God Skylar still has her eyesight as she already lost half of it from a brain tumor. However we should have been warned far in advance. Who would think to ask about blindness for back surgery? Anyhow, she is home and has other medical issues we are still trying to work out but the surgery itself I believe was a success. She was at 90 degrees and has a correction of 35 degrees. She goes this Friday for her 6 week check up and I am concerned because she is having pain on her left side (ribs and back) especially when laying down. Also when she lays down flat in bed right away she can not breathe and I have to lift her bed up. Could a screw be loose or any idea what could be wrong?

Thanks
Melanie

[~ScoliosisGirl~]

Melanie,
ya i know!! who would think to ask about blindness for back surgery? .. and about the ribs and back pain.. i woudnt really know excatly from what it is from but i dont think that it could possibly be a screw being loose!! when you yourself will know, please let us know.. we would like to hear back from you!! good luck to you and your daughter!

[Carmell]

Thanks for the update. I'm glad the scoliosis surgery went well and seems to be a success. Let us know what the docs say on Friday about the side/back pain. Hopefully an xray will show what its caused from (or nothing). Good luck with everything else. Scary to know about the potential blindness, probably from any surgery with excess blood loss. Yikes.

[sccrm08]

I had terrible pain on my right side, lower ribs. After 3 days of pain and difficulty getting deep breaths I spent a day in ER and found out I had fluid build up both in and outside the lungs. You may want to have it checked.

[laurieg6]

I really hope that Skylar feels much better very soon. Please continue to let us know how she is doing.

[mel48315]

Thank you all! I thought we may have to do an ER run last night as she wouldn't eat and was not responsive. Skylar is diabetic too so after coating her mouth with sugar water, I finally had to give her an emergency hydrocortozone shot and she finally came too. So I have been keeping a close eye on her and we will be seeing her ortho tomorrow. The ER is right there so we will go if needed. She does feel better today, possibly from the excessive steroid last night. Anyhow, thank you and I will let you know how the appt goes tomorrow.
Melanie

[mel48315]

Hi all,
Skylar's appt went very well. I got to see the x-rays and nothing is wrong with any hardware....thank God! They said it can take around 4 months to get adjusted to everything. After seeing the x-ray I understand. She has 2 rods going from her neck down to her tailbone! Quite a miracle someone can withstand this surgery but they do!! Also Skylar was given the ok to go swimming....just no twisting but she is paralzed on her left side anyway so she won't be going side to side! Anyhow, I'm very, very pleased with how this all went. The fear of this surgery was horrible and I'm so glad that part is over. Thank you for all your support!

Melanie