The I'm Happy I Had Surgery Sticky Thread

[LindaRacine]

This thread is for anyone who wants to post details about their good surgical outcomes. Please post your details, including the approximate date of your surgery, your age at the time, the name of your surgeon, and the levels that were fused. No debates or discussions will be allowed. If you have a question about a poster, please send them a private message.

[JenniferG]

Date of surgery: March 3, 2009
Age at the time: almost 58
Surgeon: Dr. Geoffrey Askin, Mater Private, Brisbane, Australia.
Levels fused: T4-Sacrum with Pelvic Fixation
Curve pre-op: 68 degrees
Curve post-op: 22 degrees
Recovery details: In hospital 19 days, difficulty sitting for about 3 weeks, experienced dizziness for 7 weeks. At six months went on holiday with Dr.'s blessing: trekking, snorkling, swimming. Felt 100% but improvements continued up to 2 years.
Problems experienced pre-op: Standing was my main problem. 30 seconds and I was in pain when I had to stand, which meant it was very painful doing lots of things. Lower back pain mainly. Would describe my pain pre-op as moderate but increasing.
Current details: No pain whatsoever, can stand or walk as long as I want. Hoping this will continue for the rest of my life.

[golfnut]

I am currently 11 months post-op and have never regretted having the surgery. I will be estactic if I get a good report from Dr. Lenke in Jaunuary for my year check-up. I have already returned to tap dancing by modifying the high impact steps. I walk several miles each day and go to water aerobics a couple of days a week. I hope to return to golfing in February (Florida Vacation-yeah!) I continue to get compliments on my new physical appearance with my improved posture and increased height. I constantly feel my back where the rib hump used to be and am thrilled that it is totally gone. I love Dr. Lenke!

Date of Surgery: January 5, 2011
Age at the time: 60
Surgeon: Dr. Lenke-St. Louis
Fused: T4 to Sacrum with Pelvic Fixation (other details in signature)
Hospital Stay: 6 days-no rehab. but husband was able to be home with me for over a month

No post surgery complications other than the typical abdomen pain from constipation.
Blacked out at 3 weeks post op & stopped oxy. I discontinued all pain meds except Tylenol at 5 weeks and soon felt relief from the abdomen pain and started having a social life, again.

I was physically active prior to surgery, which might be a factor in my smooth recovery. Fortunately, I had very little pre-surgery pain which allowed me to exercise a great deal.

[lisazena]

Thanks for this great thread to Linda for the idea and to all the posters. The info is very helpful. For both the "Glad I had surgery," and "Unhappy I had surgery," it would be good to add one more piece of info--Problems pre-surgery (extent of pain, area of pain, any disability), etc.
Lisa

[Lue]

Hi, I had revision surgery May,and June (posterior, anterior) That was the best thing I did, I feel great, Dr. Kahaled Kebaish at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore,Md. I am fused from T5 to Pelvic, He did a PSO. I had flatback and saggital imbalance. I am 68, I was in hospital 1 week no rehab. Just a lot of walking, and returned to work in Sept. as a hairdresser 3 days a week. I hope everyone has the same results I had, Lu

[Elisa]

Well, I haven't had scoliosis surgery but my son has, does that count? If not go ahead and delete.

My son was about 12.5 when he was first diagnosed with scoliosis. His curve was already at about 48* and surgery seemed like the only option. Wait times here in BC for a consultation with a spine specialist is at least a year and if surgery is needed, then you're looking at about two years. So for a good 1.5 years we watched his spine go from 48* to about 110*-115* and he could no longer participate in PE at school and it hurt for him to just sit in the chairs at school and walking a few blocks caused him so much pain. It hurt for him to cough or sneeze and he said it felt as though a "hot knife was sticking in his back".

No luck with BC Children's hospital, so we contacted Shriners and he had his first surgery (posterior release) & halo traction application on March 22nd. 2011 and his posterior fusion from T4-L2 with four weeks of halo traction in between the surgeries. He is about seven months post op now and he says he feels great! He is also four inches taller from being stretched out. He says he has no pain, just tenderness, was off all meds after about a month and is attending high school full time with no issues.

Are we happy he had the surgery(s). Umm, YES!!

[titaniumed]

I’m extremely pleased. I think about all the pain I endured through the years, and you know what?

It wasn’t worth it.
Ed

[jeneemohler]

Surgery January 10, 2011
49 years old
Dr. Kathleen Moore
Fused T3 to S1 with pelvic fixation
pre op curves- both in the 70's
post op curves- both 35 degrees

I have done extremely well and would do it again in a heartbeat. I have my life back. No more sciatica pain, back pain, or pain from ribs sitting on my rib cage. I can drive/fly long distances, bike, hike, rollerskate, (I hope to go skiing in a few months!), cook elaborate dinners (standing at the sink for long periods of time were nearly my undoing), do some landscaping,-all the things I love but were nearly impossible to do before surgery. I haven't found anything that I can't do yet!

[mariya]

Thank you for considering those of us that are still debating. We need these stories to help us make a decision. And I am with Lisa, who suggested adding the problems expirienced before surgery.

THanks to all who respond.

Mariya

[backissues]

Date: December 7, 2010
Age: 65
Surgeon: Dr. Frank Rand
Procedure: Laminectomy L3, L4, L5; Vertebroplasty T9-T10
Transforaminal Decompression L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, and L5-S1
Bil. right L4-L5 disc excision; PSIF T10-S1 w/BIL
Intra-pelvic fixation plus local autograft
BMP and allograft; corrective spinal maneuver

I am very happy I had this done. It wasn't easy but it has been a positive life-changing event.

Irene

[loves to skate]

Even though I am not totally pain free, I am still happy I had surgery because, prior to surgery I was not able to walk very far, stand for more than 10 minutes and could no longer roller skate or generally enjoy life. Recovery was really tough for me but by three months, I was off of the narcotics. Once off of the narcotics, I realized I had residual nerve pain in my right leg for which I take Neurontin. At about two years post-op I had another surgery to decompress the nerves. I was hopeful that the nerve pain would eventually go away, but it has not and at this point, four years post-op, is probably permanent. Eleven months after my surgery, I was allowed to go back to roller skating which was a joy for me. After my surgery, I am able to walk a mile or two (if it wasn't for bad knees and ankles, I could walk more), stand in the kitchen to prepare meals and can pretty much do anything I want to do. Since we moved a year and 1/2 ago, I don't have a skating rink that has adult skating, so I have taken up line dancing which is almost as much fun. I also have a great social life in our new location. Moving at age 70 is not much fun, but would have been impossible if I hadn't had surgery.
Sally

[kennedy]

Date: March 10, 2010
Age: 18
Surgeon: Dr. Munish Gupta
Procedure: Posterior Spinal Fusion T4-L2, Thoracoplasty
Curve Before: 50 Degrees
Curve After: 20 Degrees

[debbei]

I'm very happy. So far, so good--knock on wood!

[tonibunny]

Date of Surgery: January 1986
Age at the time: 10 (I'd had infantile idiopathic scoliosis, so had grown up wearing EDF plaster casts and Milwaukee braces up until this point)
Surgeon: Michael Edgar, RNOH Stanmore, UK
Fused: T1-T12, Harrington Rod with Luque wires
Hospital Stay: Thoracic anterior release (open thoracotomy), 3 weeks in halo-tibial traction, posterior fusion - 6 weeks in total

Date of Surgery: June 1994
Age at the time: 18
Surgeon: Michael Edgar, Middlesex Hospital, London UK
Fused: Removal of Harrington rod and replacement with a longer rod, placement of anterior Zielke rod to include lumbar curve, fusion T1-L3. Costoplasty
Hospital Stay: 3 weeks

Date of Surgery: Sept 2001
Age at the time: 25
Surgeon: Mr Burgoyne, Middlesex Hospital, London UK
Fused: Second costoplasty to gain more cosmetic correction as I had such a "sharp" rib hump
Hospital Stay: 2 weeks

Date of Surgery: June 2009
Age at the time: 34
Surgeon: Stewart Tucker, RNOH Stanmore / Wellington Private Hospital, London, UK
Fused: Fusion extended one level down to L4 to include degenerated disc, using XLIF minimally-invasive technique
Hospital Stay: 1 week

I'm ever so happy that I had all of these surgeries and my back does not stop me from doing anything, I've had a great career and spent my university days clubbing and these days I enjoy climbing mountains and cycling. I'm more active than many of my friends with normal spines. At school I always took part in normal PE activities throughout. The length of my hospital stays were all typical for the time.

[nanlo]

What a great idea for a thread, both pro and con!
I fall in the category of "really super glad I had surgery". I had curves 91 and 86 degrees (previous fusion in two areas in 1967, but my curves were progressing) and lumbar stenosis ("no detectable spinal fluid" at L4). I did not really have pain, but could not stand for more than 20 minutes w/ out resting.
I had surgery w/ Dr Lenke in August of 2010, fused T1 to sacrum. It was an extremely challenging thing to go through, but, to me worth it in every way. If I was told that I needed to have it done right now, I would gladly hop in the car and go have surgery, no question!! That's a silly scenario, but that's how enthusiastic I am about the results of my surgery.
My curves are now 50 and 45. I feel fantastic. Tons of energy and flexibility.
happy !!!
Nancy