oh boy!

[arizo]

ok well i guess after 3 years of thinking about getting my spinal fusion the time has come for me. The doctor is telling me the positives out way the negatives and i guess im down for it. im 21 and very physically fit.
i think the surgery is call painfull skiphosi or something like that. anyways its 2weeks away and its a 2part surgery, 1 is to put tubes into my chest to relive pressure, the 2nd surgery which would be 3 days later is the actully spianl fusion. Im getting the surgery done at MGH boston. which i think is great.
but anyways post surgery what can i expect?

edit just saw i put it in the wrong section

[txmarinemom]

i think the surgery is call painfull skiphosi or something like that. anyways its 2weeks away and its a 2part surgery, 1 is to put tubes into my chest to relive pressure, the 2nd surgery which would be 3 days later is the actully spianl fusion. Im getting the surgery done at MGH boston. which i think is great.

but anyways post surgery what can i expect?

Arizo,

I'm going to take a stab at this, but you really need to get your surgeon to write down the terms for you - and what he's planning to do.

There is no surgery called "painfull skiphosi". I *believe* MAYBE what you heard was "kyphosis". Some kyphosis (the rounding in your upper back) is normal, but in some cases it can be far greater than normal and cause pain. It's a condition (like scoliosis) ... not a surgical procedure. They can, however, correct it to some extent with a spinal fusion.

I've never heard of a 2 part procedure where they only place drain tubes before spinal fusion (unless MAYBE an anterior disc release is done). Normally, a 2 part procedure is called an anterior/posterior approach surgery, and they remove the discs (and sometimes pack with bone graft) through an incision in the front and then (usually a week or so later), they make a posterior (on the back), incision and do the spinal fusion (and place the hardware ... rods, pedicle screws, crossbraces, etc., and possibly pack in more bone graft material.

Are you sure your surgeon said he was simply placing drain tubes during the first surgery? Why? Do you have some other condition besides scoliosis that has caused fluid buildup?

It's difficult to say what to expect post-op because everyone is so different. It's impossible to answer your question - even in general terms - when you're not clear what they are going to do.

How severe is your curve, where is it located, and what levels do they plan to fuse?

I'd really encourage you to get with your surgeon again and get more details. This is a decision you'll live with the rest of your life, and you need specific information and terms.

Best regards,
Pam

[Pooka1]

There is no surgery called "painfull skiphosi".

Let's hope not.

[txmarinemom]

There is no surgery called "painfull skiphosi".

Let's hope not.

If there were, with my luck, I'd probably have had it ... at least once.

*sigh

I'm the person who's friends are constantly asking "Why can't you ever, um, get anything *normal* ... like a COLD???"

Arizo, again, I hope you can get your surgeon or their PA to write things down for you and give you a better explanation.

Best regards,
Pam

[arizo]

the tube the doc said were to reduce pressure. I think my curve is a 60. im sorry I dnt have betta explantion. basically the less I knoe wats wrng with me the better im going to deal with it. all I knoe is tubes in my chest on friday and 4 days later the 8hr surgery.

no im very physically fit so hopefully ima be able to bounce back on my feet.

it is the upper part of my back kind of gives me the hunched back.

but again sorry for the vague summary of my issue.

[ScolioDan]

Good luck.
I still cant decide whether I want surgery or not. I spent the last 8 years trying and working hard to avoid surgery, but things progressed and now it seems like it could actually make things a lot better.

[arizo]

Good luck.
I still cant decide whether I want surgery or not. I spent the last 8 years trying and working hard to avoid surgery, but things progressed and now it seems like it could actually make things a lot better.

there saying it works wonders. and in 6 weeks im back in wrk. 3 months back to lifting wieghts but very light, 6 months i should be doing normal things, less pain and looking great, god willling

[txmarinemom]

I still cant decide whether I want surgery or not. I spent the last 8 years trying and working hard to avoid surgery, but things progressed and now it seems like it could actually make things a lot better.

Dan,

Mine was much the same scenario, however, it was "only" my *pain* that was increasing to intolerable levels ... my curve was not moving at all.

I can't really remember a time when my back didn't hurt, although I do know when it started.

After wearing the brace for about 3 months, just before my 11th birthday, I was hospitalized (42 straight days) with sudden, severe, unexplained hydrocephalus.

To be able to deliver any type of emergency life-saving procedures, I couldn't be in the brace. Someone (maybe JillW?) asked me the other day when my curve moved ... it could have very well been during that 42 days. I was also out of it for an additional few months because I was so swollen from the steroids (Decadron is some nassssssssy stuff!), and I had a deep abdominal incision where the distal end of my VP shunt was placed.

It occurs to me I probably lived with worse back pain as a kid than most adults ever experience, and probably at levels that would drop most adults to their knees. To me, it was just normal.

To give you an idea how bad it was by the time I had surgery, the VERY first thing I immediately noticed (even waking, post-op ... with all the new pains/soreness) was that it no longer felt someone was trying to pry my shoulder blades apart.

Of course surgery/no surgery is a personal decision we all have to make. It is permanent. For me, it was a last resort - and one I haven't regretted for a minute ... even during the toughest moments of my recovery.

Best wishes on your decision.

Regards,
Pam

[ScolioDan]

Okay thats interesting.