Surgery date scheduled

[djkinkead]

Hello,

Today I met Dr. Charles Edwards II of Mercy Hospital in Baltimore, MD. He was one of the surgeons Linda recommended and I must admit I was impressed with Dr. Edwards and Mercy hospital.

It seems he agrees with the trend of not getting blood from the patient--as he feels it will affect my healing (I'm not a big person to start with). I am hoping my husband can donate blood for me. Also, one thing I was really dreading was having to deal with those weird sounding plastic braces. Dr. Edwards thinks I'll be able to get by using a lumbosacral Corset.

Lots to do before the surgery--which is set for August 23rd. Got a new set xrays today, need to get an MRI, etc.

Also, while I was getting my xrays, the doctor brought in a lady who had the surgery two months ago and introduced her to my husband. She gave him her phone number for me to call to ask questions about the surgery. That was really kind of her to offer.

He looked at the xrays I brought with me, he says I have more of a 105 degree curve on top...and since I have lost about two inches of height in the past two years, it will probably continue to grow worse at a greater rate--this is the time for the surgery while I am strong.

A scary prospect--but one I need to do.

[SusanS]

Good luck to you. It is such a hard decision. I had put it off for too long, I was told I'd better not wait any longer due to the nerve involvement. My surgeon didn't use my blood either and so far I've lived to tell the tale! I like to imagine I got the blood of people with wonderful, admirable qualities that will somehow transfer to me through their blood. Ridiculous I know, but I enjoyed thinking it anyway!

I like that your doctor thought to introduce you one of his previous patients. I spoke with one and found that so reassuring.

Be sure to get out and enjoy summertime before being tied down to the business of recovery. Recovery is not as painful as I thought it might be but to me it is too short a leash!

[djkinkead]

Won't be using bone tissue for surgery

Another interesting item Dr. Edwards mentioned is that he will be using some kind of compound for the fusion part instead of scraping off bone tissue from the hip. He mentioned getting the bone tissue from a hip was actually very painful to the patient and he had talked the hospital into using the fusion compound, which he said is very expensive ($5K).

Definately will be getting out for the summer months. I love to jet ski but am only going on calm waters now...

[titaniumed]

Your x-ray looks quite similar to Pilar’s x-ray.....and yes, it’s a large curve.

My surgeon did not use any bone at all. No autograft or allowgraft, it was all BMP. It acts as a catalyst to speed up fusion rates....

You waited a long time.....it has happened to many of us. Actually, I was surprised to see many join the forum and post here that had large curves that had waited. Years ago, before the internet and this forum, trying to get information was limited. I call it the “dark ages” of scoliosis. We need to be thankful that our surgeons and doctors have put so much effort in helping us through the years. Things have come a long way in the last 50 years.

Has your surgeon explained the procedure to you?
Ed

[djkinkead]

Yes, Dr. Edwards did explain procedure to me. His main area of concern is my bone density: I am just into Osteopenia. Been taking calcium twice a day....hopefully that is helping. Another area of concern is how flexible my bones are.

There were also other differences between this doctor and the one I saw first--it might be this hospital has more advanced equipment--but the doctor I saw a few months ago had mentioned that if they thought something might be affecting the nerves they would kind of "half way" wake me up to see if I could move legs, feet., etc. This doctor says they have electronic pulses or something where they would be able to tell if the nerve was affected. Worse case scenario, if they felt the nerves were affected too much (probably not exact terminology), they would stop the surgery, wait four days and complete it).

Oh well, I know I won't live much into retirement if I don't have this surgery.

The internet is wonderful--I am learning so much from everyone! In some ways I wish maybe I had done this earlier, but on the other hand, I think a lot of new technology has been introduced even in the past few years that maybe this is better.