My upcoming surgery

[Elizabeth J.]

Hi I am new to the forum
My name is Elizabeth I am 48 yrs. old
I had my first surgery in 1979
In Cleveland OH
A large portion of my thoracic spine was fused
I have 2 hairington rods one straight one with hooks

I was told the pressure from the rods and the fushion
has cased my lumber spine to degenerate and is collapsing

I have been in very much pain and it shoots down my left leg to my toes
I also get spasms in my lower back and sharp pains

I am scheduled to have Revision surgery on January 10, 2011
I am going to have my entire lumber spine fused through the sacrum
with pelvic screws
The surgeon said they may have to remove the screws after a year

Any one have anything like this done?

Thanks, any info will be appreciated.

[titaniumed]

Elizabeth

Welcome. Soon you will be all fixed up. Sciatica is devastating.

Mine are still in, its been 3 years. Every once in a while someone will have to get them pulled but it doesn’t happen too often. I don’t know what the stats are on pelvic screw removals.

Ed

[kennedy]

Elizabeth welcome i just notice your having your 2nd surgery on jan 10th I be 10 months postop then

[JenniferG]

Hi Elizabeth, welcome to the forum. There are a few members here who've had revision surgery. I'm sure some of them will come by this thread and tell you of their experience. Best of luck, sounds like you're going to be a whole lot better soon.

[Lue]

Revision

Hi, Elizabeth, I had surgery 2002, I am now 67 and need revision, all my problem was lumbar, and th rods put pressure on sacrum. I am going to Johns Hopkins in the spring, were are you going to have your surgery, and Dr.s name? good luck to you, hope to here good reports from your surgery. Lu

[fierceliketiger]

Hi Elizabeth! Welcome!
I am so sorry to hear that you are having so many problems lately! Sciatica is no fun at all!
I hope all goes will!!

[dailypain]

Hi I am new to the forum
My name is Elizabeth I am 48 yrs. old
I had my first surgery in 1979
In Cleveland OH
A large portion of my thoracic spine was fused
I have 2 hairington rods one straight one with hooks

I was told the pressure from the rods and the fushion
has cased my lumber spine to degenerate and is collapsing

I have been in very much pain and it shoots down my left leg to my toes
I also get spasms in my lower back and sharp pains

I am scheduled to have Revision surgery on January 10, 2011
I am going to have my entire lumber spine fused through the sacrum
with pelvic screws
The surgeon said they may have to remove the screws after a year

Any one have anything like this done?

Thanks, any info will be appreciated.

Hi Elizabeth:

I had my first surgery T4-L4 in 1969. In 2006 my second now T3-S1. I am now 55 and still in a lot of pain. Plus I have a lot of limitations since I am not able to bend. My doctor won't remove the screws, he has had a few patients that became "unstable" after removing. So I have to keep mine even though I believe they are causing me the pain.

Good luck with yours.

Daily Pain

[jrnyc]

have you consulted with other surgeons about that, daily pain?
my surgeon in NYC...i haven't had scoli surgery...yet...said he'd probably have to remove the bottom screws after a year if/when i have it done...i am thin and small boned, and he said those are the people who feel them the worst...

why would a surgeon sentence their patient to a life of pain, without solution??

jess

[Elizabeth J.]

My upcoming surgery

Thank you to everyone for your replies
Sorry it took me so long to get back
I had my last day of work this past Thursday
I am going to be off this week before my surgery on Jan 10th.
My pre-addmision testing is this Wednesday
I will be having my surgery at Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights Ohio
My surgeon is Dr. Eppig it is a Cleveland Clinic Hospital
My first surgery was done by Dr. Nash in 1979
Dr. Eppig studied under Dr. Nash
I am going to have a two procedure surgery
First they will be going through my side (I forgot what side I will ask Wednesday)
He said I will have four small cuts where they will use a four arm robotic machine
and insert the cages
Then he will go through my back and take two bone grafts from my pelvic
insert the screws and whatever else hardware
He said the surgery could take 8-12 hrs.

I was wondering is it hard to sit up after surgery?
How about getting up out of bed
What kind of things did you need at home to make it helpfull
My husband was wondering if we should rent a hospital bed
Did anyone need any special equipment at home?

I realize things are going to be a lot different for me and it will
be a long recovery.
I feel I am doing the right thing for me
My x-rays show severe stenosis & degeneration
The past year has been very hard for me as the pain has been getting worse
I have a hard time being on my feet for long
I work in a factory & run some machinery and assembling
They had to hire someone to do my job
I cannot do a lot of things because of the pain
they have been very accomadating to me
but I am not sure I can go back to that kind of work
I am 48 yrs old not sure what kind of work I can do after this surgery
Who would want to hire me after 2 back surgeries.
My husband said I need to take one step at a time and get through this surgery first.

Thanks again for any advice

Elizabeth J.

[titaniumed]

Elizabeth

Your husband is right. Smart guy! You take it one step at a time. Don’t worry about working right now, you will figure it out later.

The one thing that I regretted in my recovery for the first 3 weeks was not having a foam topper for the bed. I would get one right now, it helps with sleeping, which is hard to do after surgery....2-4 inches thick, latex foam.

Having a bottle of Magnesium Citrate on your shelf just in case......

Linda has a list.
http://www.scoliosislinks.com/PreparingforSurgery.htm

Ed

[JenniferG]

All the very best to you Elizabeth. Your husband's right, get well first and all else will fall into place. You may be surprised at what you can (as opposed to what you can't) do, after healing.

Will your husband be able to give us updates? We love to hear how "our" patients are in those first few days/weeks.

[Jacque's Mom]

Hi Elizabeth J.,
I just had my second surgery on 12/7, the first one was with the Harrington Rod in 1981, and I completely understand what you are going through with the pain, etc. Now I am fused from T-4 to the sacrum and am doing well. It will be four weeks on Tuesday. You will be surprised how you will be able to get out of bed alone, etc. As far as a hospital bed, I did not get one as my bed is very comfortable and have more room than a hospital bed. I completely agree with Ed to have a topper! I have a Tempurpedic, which is like a toper, and it is very comfortable and easy to get out of bed. As others have said, don't worry about anything other than healing. You will be in my thoughts and prayers. All the best, LYNN

[Elizabeth J.]

My upcoming surgery

Thank you all for your replies
It is comforting to hear from people who have been there
The checklist is great for ideas and things to have
I was looking at some of those foam toppers on the internet
and I noticed they very in price and there are so many to
choose from
Does anyone suggest a certain one?

Thank you for wanting to keep in touch
I will ask my Mom to keep you posted on my
recovery.
My husbands great but I could never get him to use a home computer.

Elizabeth J.

[mbeckoff]

Thank you all for your replies
It is comforting to hear from people who have been there
The checklist is great for ideas and things to have
I was looking at some of those foam toppers on the internet
and I noticed they very in price and there are so many to
choose from
Does anyone suggest a certain one?

Thank you for wanting to keep in touch
I will ask my Mom to keep you posted on my
recovery.
My husbands great but I could never get him to use a home computer.

Elizabeth J.

I have a 4 inch memory topper and it is so comfortable to use.
Good luck
Melissa

[Elizabeth J.]

Surgery Tomorrow!

Hi All,
I can't believe it is finally here.
I am off for my surgery tomorrow morning at 7:30 am
The surgeon is expecting it to last from 7-11 hrs.
My mom Mary said she will keep the forum posted for me
Thanks to everyone for your advice & support.
I am a little scared but ready to get this over with.
Elizabeth