Surgery Dates

[Bionic Woman]

Hi All,
I was just wondering - I've noticed that many of you have surgery dates that seem quite far out. When I made my surgery date (which was on this past July 6th) I could have made it a week later, but chose to wait almost 3 weeks to get some business in order. I'm just surprised that many of you are having to wait 2-4 months. Is there a particular reason for that? I was thinking maybe it's because of the facility you have chosen, but still was unclear on the wait. I had one of the best surgeons in my area at a well known hospital, but again, didn't have the incredible wait. I don't think I'd have been able to wait that long physically or mentally!!! I feel so bad for those of you that have to wait, so I'll be praying for you that the time passes quickly and that you'll be as comfortable as possible until the date arrives.
Take care and I'll be praying for you
Debbie

4 weeks post op now and doing pretty good

[lapieper]

When I had my first surgery (Apr 08) I had to wait about three months. I think it takes a while to line up the OR since my surgery required 8-10 hours usage. And, at that time, the economy was little better, and people may have been better able to afford "elective" or "necessary" surgeries. My third surgery (Mar 09) required about six weeks. That surgery only required 4-6 hours, and the economy wasn't doing quite as well. So I'm sure the ORs were a little more "available." I don't live in a huge metropolis like NYC or Dallas, and the demands on our facilities may be greater. Who knows!?
Lesley

[rzbud]

Hi Debbie,
My surgery is scheduled for Oct. 5th cause I chose that date. They had one in a six week frame but I wanted to enjoy what summer is left here in CA.
I have pain that is manageable right now and can take short walks and not have too much pain. It is when I sit for long periods that I am more uncomfortable. I guess this is better than most others having constant pain.

Glad to hear you are at 4 wks.. I know this probably is not how you see it, but it seems like you had just had it done. Wow...glad to hear you are feeling pretty good.

Rzbud
Surgery will be Oct. 5th - plan is to fuse T11 to L5

[Vali]

Hi Debbie,
Good to hear that you're doing really well post-op. I had my surgery on June 1st this year (Iwas told I needed surgery on April 6th), I chose this date, in order to finalise details for work amongst other things and then to allow 1 month (May) for the collection of my own blood for the surgery. Also, I hate winter and figured that apart from my daily walking, I would just hibernate until spring came around.

[johnsonbunch]

I saw a surgeon almost 5 years ago, but the timing wasn't right. I decided to put it off about 6 months til our slow summer season, but I lost the job and the insurance. Like many people, the pain was tolerable. It was more about timing. This time, I saw 2 doctors in July, and pushed to get it a month later in August. Just 6 more days!

[Bionic Woman]

Ok, makes sense. I was just feeling really really bad for anyone that may have to wait and are in the pain I was in before my surgery. It was pretty unbelivable Thanks for sharing!!
Debbie

[loris]

I am not having my surgery unti November 11. That seems like such a long time away, but I picked that date for several different reasons. I had to take my job into thought there are several task that I do that only I know how to do and we will be closing out our accounting year at the end of September, and also my in-laws will be out of town a couple of weeks before that and they really wanted to be home during that time so I can have help. However I am beginning to regret my decision. My pain is getting worse every day and three months seems like such a long time.

[asccbodypro]

wait times

Usually the wait like some have said comes from the scheduling the OR because of the extensive time on the surgery. Or just being a in demand surgeon. I feel bad in my case because my surgery was split in 2 parts and my second was suppose to take 6 hours and ended up being 11 1/2 hours. I know some surgeries probably got cancelled and there were probably some pissed off people. What can I say. I was way crooked and then they had to use pediactric hardware instead of adult and that really threw them off!

Glad to hear that your doing well @ 4 weeks post op! That's great news! I was so sick from week 4 to week 6. I couldn't eat much and the meds were kicking my butt! 2 months seemed to be my magic week!

[Bionic Woman]

Usually the wait like some have said comes from the scheduling the OR because of the extensive time on the surgery. Or just being a in demand surgeon. I feel bad in my case because my surgery was split in 2 parts and my second was suppose to take 6 hours and ended up being 11 1/2 hours. I know some surgeries probably got cancelled and there were probably some pissed off people. What can I say. I was way crooked and then they had to use pediactric hardware instead of adult and that really threw them off!

Glad to hear that your doing well @ 4 weeks post op! That's great news! I was so sick from week 4 to week 6. I couldn't eat much and the meds were kicking my butt! 2 months seemed to be my magic week!

WOW Boy I feel like my surgery was nothing!! Mine was about 4-5 hours, but I don't think mine was as extensive as most of the rest of you. I only had T11 - L5 fusion. Don't get me wrong, that was plenty, but sure isn't what I've heard from all of you!!
Debbie

[megz]

Hey Debbie,


It's taken me 5 months just to get my initial visit with my Dr. ((sept 14)) I know that surgery is going to be the only option. But If I had the option to have surgery the following week after my apt I would choose it in a heartbeat!! lol But from his other patients they had to wait a while before they got there surgery date =/ bummer!

[titaniumed]

Hi Debbie

Yes it seems that 3 months is the usual waiting timeframe. Of course this is scheduled around the particular surgeons schedule.

I chose 3 months and didn't want to do it at Christmas time but the 3 months did pass quickly. I chose 3 months and no sooner because I was also scared to death and figured that any farther was too long of a wait.

I was scheduled back in 1975 and chickened out and basically waited 33 years for technology to improve. I guess you can call that a long wait. LOL I'm grateful for the improvements that have occurred during that time. I also monitored my Cobbs through x-rays and was fortunate that my curves remained stable through all those years. I had twin 50s from age 16 back in 1975.

That's good that you are doing well. Hang in there, recovery takes some time.......
Ed

[twistedmama81]

I made my decision to have surgery in April of 2008...but I wanted to wait til my kids were a little older and more independent, and had it scheduled for September 2009. FOURTEEN months!! But then I got so bad off, I called and asked if we could move the surgery up, and they said they could do it in December. I said I wanted to have a good Christmas with my kids so when is the next time after Christmas and thats how we landed on January 15th.

I am soooo glad I had it when I did, because while I was in the hospital, and the economy pretty much crashed, my husband was severely demoted and we took a huge paycut. But by that time, I had already met all my financial obligations as far as insurance was concerned. If I had waited til September, and my husband was demoted like he was, then I would NOT have had the money to pay for the surgery. So I thank God that I moved it up! But still April 2008 to January 2009 is a VERY long time to wait and let your mind wonder and worry and all that good stuff. On the other hand, I had lots of time to make arrangements for travel and for child care and get my house in order and all that.

And of course I think about the fact now, if I had waited....and with Dr. Shelokov passing away, he wouldn't have been the one to "fix" me. And while I could've found another doctor, I truly feel that he was meant to be my doctor.

[Bionic Woman]

I made my decision to have surgery in April of 2008...but I wanted to wait til my kids were a little older and more independent, and had it scheduled for September 2009. FOURTEEN months!! But then I got so bad off, I called and asked if we could move the surgery up, and they said they could do it in December. I said I wanted to have a good Christmas with my kids so when is the next time after Christmas and thats how we landed on January 15th.

I am soooo glad I had it when I did, because while I was in the hospital, and the economy pretty much crashed, my husband was severely demoted and we took a huge paycut. But by that time, I had already met all my financial obligations as far as insurance was concerned. If I had waited til September, and my husband was demoted like he was, then I would NOT have had the money to pay for the surgery. So I thank God that I moved it up! But still April 2008 to January 2009 is a VERY long time to wait and let your mind wonder and worry and all that good stuff. On the other hand, I had lots of time to make arrangements for travel and for child care and get my house in order and all that.

And of course I think about the fact now, if I had waited....and with Dr. Shelokov passing away, he wouldn't have been the one to "fix" me. And while I could've found another doctor, I truly feel that he was meant to be my doctor.

Wow! God is good and He always does things in His perfect timing. I can relate to some of the financial things. The company I work for, I started in Nov 08. At that time they didn't offer disability benes. However, during open enrollment in Jan 09, they offered it, I signed up, it went into effect Mar 1st, but because this is considered a "pre-existing condition" and the policy was not in effect for 12 months, I've been denied disability benes. To top it all off, as of July 24th, my company was bought out by another company and I'm kinda in limbo as far as being an employee. I'm off on a Medical Leave, but because I'm not available to be employed, they are holding my employment packet until I'm released from my medical, then I'll have to be interviewed and basically go thru the hiring process. So, my medical benes ended on July 31st, and I have to apply for COBRA and pay the entire amount for medical benes Now the interesting thing is, I can't apply for unemployment because I'm not able to accept any employment right now, and probably (I haven't checked into this yet) don't qualify for Social Security Disability, because it's a temporary disability. Totally nuts!! I'm so blessed that I have a wonderful husband and a wonderful family that is helping financially until I can get back to work. Again, God is good and meets our needs I'll be praying for ALL of us!!
Debbie