Trouble after a head on car crash!

[praktina]

Hi there!
I'm new to this forum, I had my spinal fusion 30 years ago in Cleveland Ohio by Dr.Herndon who has since passed. I've been active for this whole time and doing well up until a head on car accident a year ago March while on the job.
I had immediate pain around my 1 lower left rod and all the doctors I've seen have stayed clear of dealing with this issue but have been more than willing to as you all say write those PERSCRIPTIONS!!! I had set up an appointment on my own with U.H. of Cleveland only to have wkmns comp deny the visit so...I'm now wearing thin of my efforts to still try but will prevail! I had one doctor tell me that once the fusion has taken place there's nothing that can happen to the hardware, that he thought I was just worried about it. There are times more that not I feel as though something is jabbing me in the back and I have difficulty walking any distance. I also have bulging discs at all levels now as well which the doctors also said nothing can be done. If anyone has any imput I would truely appreciate it.

[LindaRacine]

Hi Praktina...

You need to be seen by a specialist who has a lot of experience in treating patients with prior fusions. Where are you located?

Regards,
Linda

[praktina]

head on car accident

Linda, I'm trying now to get back to cleveland where I originally had the surgergy, thats where all my records are. I'm going to end up paying for this out of pocket but I don't care. I'am in Clearwater Florida. I really am worn down, Thanks for replying...

[LindaRacine]

Hi...

Your records are almost certainly long gone. And, I don't really know of anyone in Cleveland who treats a lot of patients with prior fusions.

There are hundreds of people who have similar problems on this forum:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Flatback_Revised

If there's anyone in Florida, or close by, they'll be able to tell you.

Regards,
Linda

[rainbow2010]

I was in a car accident 20 years after my surgery. I was told that they thought the bottom hook on my rod had moved a tiny bit. They wanted to compair xrays, but I did not have any post-op xrays available. Now when ever I get anything done on my back I save the xrays. When my daughter had her scoliosis surgery, I kept a set of postop xrays. The doctor thought that the jolt I took (I was broadsided and spun 180 degrees) caused the bottom hook to move a little, just enough to cause a lot of pain. It took 2 years of going to physical therapy to get the pain under control. My back muscles were severly sprained and I have one that I still have problems with 15 years later. We think that that accident triggered my daughter's scoliosis. I was in an accident when I was also 4 and I ended up having to have scoliosis surgery but my sisters both had very mild curves (under 20 degrees).

[Qikdraw]

Praktina,

I'm sorry to hear about your accident! It definately deserves more looking into. Save all reciepts for travel, doctors, meals, gas, etc... when you go deal with this yourself. If it does end up being something serious you can hopefully bill that to Workers Comp.
I don't know about Florida, but here in California workers get screwed by WC. All they care about is getting you back to work, and they've even got a policy that pain is not a debilitating factor. They really messed my wife up and refused to look after everything that was wrong with her, even though their own checks found it.

I hope you can find out what is wrong and get it fixed. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

[mejeyo]

Car crash (me too)

Hi, I've had my spine fused for 27 years. I have 5 horizontal pins fused along my spine that are located from bra strap to underwear line (I don't know the lumbar regions to describe it better). In 1993, I was also in a car accident. I was run off the highway by a car that didn't see me, I was in his blindspot as he decided to change lanes. I drove into the median, hit a gas pipe, and slid uncontrollably into oncoming traffic. I was hit by a van as I entered oncoming traffic, and rolled back through the medium, through the traffic lanes I had come from, and landed in a ditch. Before they cut me out of the car, I knew my fusion was broke. I could feel it deep inside. From that accident, I bruised my heart & my abdomen from the seatbelt, fractured my hips in 5 places, jammed my left femur up into my hip, and broke one of my pins. Breaking or moving hardware can happen. I had to have a rod placed vertically over my pins as a result. My doctor said it would be like double security for the future. As time goes on, as many spinal fusion patients know, it gets harder and harder to recover. My first fusion at 12 was easy compared to my second fusion at 23. If you feel that there's pain, you owe it to yourself to have it checked out. You don't want to end up with more pain in the future.

[mamamax]

Linda, I'm trying now to get back to cleveland where I originally had the surgergy, thats where all my records are. I'm going to end up paying for this out of pocket but I don't care. I'am in Clearwater Florida. I really am worn down, Thanks for replying...

Praktina - Tampa is just a few miles from Clearwater. Another member here posted information about a surgeon there that you may also want to check out FoundHere. Wishing you all the best.