Titanium or Bone

[Kitty]

Hi All,

I am really concerned. My daughter is due for surgery in November and we have been told that her rod will be made from cadaver bone HOwever, i know of others whose surgeons have used titanium or stainless steel rods. Could someone please tell me the difference, why a surgeon would use one over the other and your experiences and opinions of either???? I am very worried and feel like my daughter is getting a substandard 'product'.

Please help.

thank you.
L.

[WNCmom]

I think you may be misunderstanding--or someone hasn't explained it clearly to you. Cadaver bone helps the vertebrae fuse together. Rods are either titanium or stainless steel. Both are used in a spinal fusion, not one or the other. My son is facing fusion in November as well; I don't have experience with it yet. But there are plenty on this board who do, and they can explain more fully.

[laurieg6]

Hi Kitty,

I could be wrong but I think you may have misunderstood the doctor. The cadaver bone is usually used as the fusion material, ground up in some way and put in between the vertebrae to help them fuse together. The rods are made of stainless steel, titanium or vitallium metal and are attached with screws (and/or hooks for some people) to the vertebrae. The hardware/instrumentation is used so that people can be up and about, functioning as they are able, not immobile in an external brace like in the past with fusion surgeries.

They used to use parts of hip bones (and still sometimes do but it is an additional surgical procedure) as a way to get the bone to use for the fusion; now most surgeons (and patients) prefer the cadaver bone, as far as I can tell from my research and reading.

So I guess the title of this could be Titanium And Bone, instead of titanium or bone. My son has stainless steel rods and 15 screws...

If I were you, I might call the doctor to clarify.

Take care,

[Kitty]

HI WNC Mom

Oh good lord. I hope you're right. I think i may have misread an email, and it kind of makes sense now. Our surgeon did definitely say bone, but he is difficult to follow and i never really understood everything he said to us, so maybe i have misunderstood. That is a HUGE HUGE relief. I was soooooo worriedl Thank you soo much.

Cheers,
Lisa

[Kitty]

Hi Laurie

I just read your email Laurie. Please read my post to WNC Mom. I wish i could ask my surgeon but he makes me feel so uncomfortable, it is difficult to ask these questions. I am a visual person so i get confused when he talks to us about what's happening and wish he would refer to a model or a drawing or something.

But i think that just goes to show what can happen when doctors don't explain things properly to their patients - misunderstandings do happen. He tended to sit there and wait for me to ask questions, but i never really knew what to ask. I find him rather intimidating, BUT he is a very good surgeon i'm told, so we are sticking with him.

Thanks so much for that - it is a HUGE weight off my shoulders.

Thank god for this form.

Take care,
Lisa

[Pooka1]

Candidate questions

Hi Lisa,

Here are some questions you might want to ask the surgeon...

1. How many vertebrae need to be fused?

2. Which ones?

3. Why must surgery be scheduled now?

4. Is the diagnosis Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis?

5. Will we bank blood?

[rainbow2010]

My daughter has 2 titanium rods and cadaver bone for her fusion. The rods hold the correction steady until the bone fusion grows solid. My daughter refers to her donor bone as Sir Francis. He was her knight in shining armor who saved her from having her hip bone shaved for her fusion!

[Carmell]

Lisa,

If you are uncomfortable speaking with the doctor, find an assistant/nurse/anyone to ask these questions before agreeing to surgery with this person. You have to have 100% confidence in the information given you, and the surgeon doing the procedure. Being afraid to ask questions is a huge red flag to me. You have to be able to stand up and be an advocate for your child. I know its hard, but some suggestions that may help include:

1. Standing when the doc comes into the room. This way your are eye-to-eye with them, and they are not talking "down" to you. Being able to look them in the eye means a lot about your confidence and therefore, means they talk TO you, not at you.

2. Write your important questions down, in priority order. Most docs don't have time for all your pre-written questions.

3. If you don't understand something, ask. You MUST understand the full implications of any recommendation. If you don't, you are doing a huge disservice to your child.

4. Ask the office people if there is a phone number or email address you can send your questions.

5. Ask if there is an assistant who can sit down with you and discuss the non-surgical implications - you need to learn things about the post-op care, the pain management plan (a MUST BEFORE surgery), any other medical issues she may have that would complicate or influence the surgery or outcome, at home care after you leave the hospital, etc. Most surgeons think of surgery only. They may have a handout or something for parents, but being able to sit down and discuss all the pre- and post- surgery issues is very helpful. And necessary.

6. Ask, "if this were your child, what would you recommend?" In rare cases, you will get a very different answer, if the surgeon is being honest with you.

Good luck!