Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

How many levels fused?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #46
    Amy, are you having surgery?
    from your signature, i thought you were just "thinking" about it...
    is it a definite now?

    jess

    Comment


    • #47
      Originally posted by jrnyc View Post
      Amy, are you having surgery?
      from your signature, i thought you were just "thinking" about it...
      is it a definite now?

      jess
      Jess,
      At this point, I have not scheduled surgery. When I joined the forum, I had been advised by a local orthopedic guy that I needed fusion soon. So I went to three other doctors in the last 3 years, and all three advised waiting since I did not seem to be progressing (I have regressed according to some x-rays but I put no stock in this- it just tells me I am not currently progressing). The last time I saw Dr Boachie last October, I had been in some relentless neck pain, and he told me to think about having surgery since "it's a quality of life matter and this will only worsen." So I initiated the insurance queries and my new insurance will only cover 6% of out-of-network. Not enough. So it's back to checking w/ other doctors, and since the best time for me is in the spring, and since I am again feeling well, and since I would rather go outside and play this spring- , I will probably wait another year. But I am ready if I need to be.

      What feels good to me about the waiting process is that Dr B has since changed up how he would proceed- he would no longer do A/P and just do posterior due to advances in the surgery. So for me, I'm glad to have waited. The other doctors are also advocating posterior only. That being said, sometimes I think the waiting and wondering is an agony of its own and would be easier just to go do it.

      So we are still in the same corner, Jess , and thank you for asking.
      Amy
      58 yrs old, diagnosed at 31, never braced
      Measured T-64, L-65 in 2009
      Measured T-57, L-56 in 2010, different doc
      2 lumbar levels spondylolisthesis
      Exercising to correct

      Comment


      • #48
        well, that's good....progress keeps marching on...
        personally, i think in a few years, minimally invasive will be much more widely accepted for ALL kinds of scoli surgery...regardless of where on the spine it is needed...

        years ago, not that long, Boachie used to collapse one lung...he did back and front surgery and collapsed a lung for better access...he doesn't do that anymore...so you see what i mean about medical progress!

        best of luck
        jess

        Comment


        • #49
          Amy,

          I am disappointed also, that we won't be roomies in June, misery does love company. It is really sad that insurance companies dictate our health care choices. And, I agree, the waiting, watching, and decision making is agony, and exhausting. It was a large part of why I finally scheduled the surgery. I was also scared that Dr. Boachie would retire, before I made my decision!
          Lori in PA, 52 yrs. old
          T54/L72
          Surgery 6/7/11, T3-S1, all posterior, with pelvic anchors
          Gained 2 inches!
          Dr. Boachie, HSS, NYC
          12/10/13 Hardware Removal for infection
          Lost 2", gained PJK!

          Comment

          Working...
          X