Shari,
For those of us in the "considering" camp, this article, like all of them, is helpful but limited. I agree that most complications seem resolvable (except death
), and I'm glad to see that there are positive outcomes in terms of curve reduction and improved disability.
What I STILL don't get is this idea that you do the surgery for "progression" even without significant pain. Because, it seems like from the literature, you have a decent chance of ending up with MORE chronic pain post-surgery, especially for lower curves.
Still looking for a study on outcomes of the lumbar region vs. natural history...
Evelyn
age 48
80* thoracolumbar; 40* thoracic
Reduced to ~16* thoracolumbar; ~0* thoracic
Surgery 3/14/12 with Dr. Lenke in St. Louis, T4 to S1 with pelvic fixation
Broken rods 12/1/19; scheduled for revision fusion L1-L3-4 with Dr. Lenke 2/4/2020
Not "confused" anymore, but don't know how to change my username.