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My appt. with Dr. Lenke!! April 18th!!!!!

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  • #61
    I'll be praying for you too, Linda. May you have a successful surgery and excellent recovery. Hugs, Susie
    71 and plugging along... but having some problems
    2007 52° w/ severe lumbar stenosis & L2L3 lateral listhesis (side shift)
    5/4/07 posterior fusion T2-L4 w/ laminectomies and osteotomies @L2L3, L3L4
    Dr. Kim Hammerberg, Rush Univ. Medical Center in Chicago

    Corrected to 15°
    CMT (type 2) DX in 2014, progressing
    10/2018 x-rays - spondylolisthesis at L4/L5 - Dr. DeWald is monitoring

    Click to view my pics: pics of scoli x-rays digital x-rays, and pics of me

    Comment


    • #62
      Linda

      I will be thinking of you on Friday. I think that this surgery should get it just perfect....

      Ed
      49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
      Pre surgery curves T70,L70
      ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
      Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

      Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
      http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

      My x-rays
      http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

      http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

      Comment


      • #63
        I will be thinking of you tomorrow and know that you will do just fine. You are in good hands with Dr. Lenke.
        Karen

        Surgery-Jan. 5, 2011-Dr. Lenke
        Fusion T-4-sacrum-2 cages/5 osteotomies
        70 degree thoracolumbar corrected to 25
        Rib Hump-GONE!
        Age-60 at the time of surgery
        Now 66
        Avid Golfer & Tap Dancer
        Retired Kdgn. Teacher

        See photobucket link for:
        Video of my 1st Day of Golf Post-Op-3/02/12-Bradenton, FL
        Before and After Picture of back 1/7/11
        tap dancing picture at 10 mos. post op 11/11/11-I'm the one on the right.
        http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/pottoff2/

        Comment


        • #64
          Best wishes, Linda! Post as soon as you can.

          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.

          Comment


          • #65
            Please let us know as soon as you can

            Melissa
            Melissa

            Fused from C2 - sacrum 7/2011

            April 21, 2020- another broken rod surgery

            Comment


            • #66
              Linda--
              Good luck! Prayers and positive thoughts coming your way. You and Dr. Lenke will do great! Janet
              Janet

              61 years old--57 for surgery

              Diagnosed in 1965 at age of 13--no brace
              Thoracic Curve: 96 degrees to 35 degrees
              Lumbar Curve: 63 degrees to 5 degrees
              Surgery with Dr. Lenke in St. Louis--March 30, 2009
              T-2 to Pelvis, and hopefully all posterior procedure.

              All was posterior along with 2 cages and 6 osteotomies.

              Comment


              • #67
                Two weeks out of Surgery!!!

                Hi all, I am sorry. It has taken so long to update you! I actually have only been home for six days. But surgery was two weeks from today. T/2 to sacrum. I am standing straight and tall again. The bad pain is gone and just dealing with the usual surgery pain. I am also dealing with my gall bladder . The day before I got out my blood cts. Went up and the liver especially. To make this a little easier to understand, they would have gone into my bile ducts to clean the sludge out, but yrs. ago I had an ulcer removed and may bile ducts are lost under my tummy unable to be reached. So the gasto. Dr. Poked a hole in my tummy, into my gall bladder and put a tube in and everything now drains into a bag. After six weeks it will come out. Yuk!! And DARN!! My blood counts went down after he put this in. It's hard enough dealing with recovery, let alone this too. But I will survive. I also have to wear a brace that wraps around my left leg, making me walk dragging that leg. This , I guess, is so
                I won't have a chance to bend. But it is a wicked brace. I kind of sling that left leg forward to walk. Ugh!!
                It is alright that Dr. Lenke is being extra cautious, but my muscles are going to atrophy I'm afraid, because I'm not walking much. Dr. Lenke even said this was going to be a problem. But only for three months.
                Thanks all for your prayers and good wishes. I will not hopefully go through this again. The surgery was really hard on my body. And anesthesia was hard to come out of. So careful I will be!!! Warm thoughts of you all, Linda
                Linda Brozik~~60 yrs. old at time of Lenke's first surgery. 62 now!
                Surgery 2006 L3/4 L4/5 double fusion/ instumentation/ With 2 cages
                This started adult onset scoliosis
                July 1st, 2010/ surgery ~~fused T10 to pelvis (long rods/ screws)
                Oct.20th 2010, extended rods to T4 / did osteotomy at L3
                Oct. 29th 2012 Dr. Lenke St. Louis Mo. T4 to sacrum osteotomy anterior cage L3/4 titanium rods
                May 30th 2013 revision
                May 8th cervicle surgery 2016
                May 31st Dr. Gupta revision 2017

                Comment


                • #68
                  Linda,
                  It was nice talking to you the other day. I know you are going through a lot of crap right now, but try to focus on getting through these first three months. When you get the brace off, you can start working on getting those muscles back. You are tough and can do it! You are in my thoughts and prayers.
                  Karen

                  Surgery-Jan. 5, 2011-Dr. Lenke
                  Fusion T-4-sacrum-2 cages/5 osteotomies
                  70 degree thoracolumbar corrected to 25
                  Rib Hump-GONE!
                  Age-60 at the time of surgery
                  Now 66
                  Avid Golfer & Tap Dancer
                  Retired Kdgn. Teacher

                  See photobucket link for:
                  Video of my 1st Day of Golf Post-Op-3/02/12-Bradenton, FL
                  Before and After Picture of back 1/7/11
                  tap dancing picture at 10 mos. post op 11/11/11-I'm the one on the right.
                  http://s1119.photobucket.com/albums/k630/pottoff2/

                  Comment


                  • #69
                    Linda,
                    Wow! I don't know how I missed this, but I did. I'm so sorry you had to go through another surgery. I was reading back through your thread to see what happened. You say you've been on methadone for a few years? You haven't built up a tolerance so that the side effects are less? I ask only because my doctor considered putting me on methadone. He explained how hard it is to get the dosage just right because it's a difficult drug to work with. It scared me so I declined and just upped my oxycodone.

                    You also mentioned that Dr. Lenke was going to redo the surgery from T12 to sacrum. What changed that he went from T2 to sacrum? Maybe it was just a typo?

                    Regardless, I'm glad you are home and on the mend. It seems like gallbladder problems occur with many of us. I wonder if it's the pain meds. I had to have mine removed a few years ago. Are they going to remove yours once the tube comes out? It's awful to even think of what you have and are having to endure.

                    Just remember that the falling isn't your fault. I fall and I'm not even fused! The doctors tell me it's because I can't bend quick enough to compensate for the lack of balance. I always fall at least once when I mow the lawn. Sometimes I'm okay, but usually I feel pretty crummy a day or two later. You are just lucky that you aren't breaking bones when you fall! If I remember correctly, you have osteopenia, right? Or do you have osteoporosis? Whichever the case, that initial rod breakage could have protected you from fracturing your spine!

                    My heart goes out to you. I'm glad you found a surgeon who could really help you through all of this. The surgeon in the Twin Cities that we both saw and shall remain nameless had a really poor bedside manner and didn't seem to give a hoot about how much pain his patients are in! I sat there practically in tears, unable to move my head at all and he just looked at me and said take some Tylenol. How rude! I'm so glad you found a compassionate doctor. It seems that they are few and far between when it comes to scoliosis doctors!

                    (((gentle hugs)))
                    Be happy!
                    We don't know what tomorrow brings,
                    but we are alive today!

                    Comment


                    • #70
                      Originally posted by babyboomer16 View Post
                      Hi all, I am sorry. It has taken so long to update you! I actually have only been home for six days. But surgery was two weeks from today. T/2 to sacrum. I am standing straight and tall again. The bad pain is gone and just dealing with the usual surgery pain. I am also dealing with my gall bladder . The day before I got out my blood cts. Went up and the liver especially. To make this a little easier to understand, they would have gone into my bile ducts to clean the sludge out, but yrs. ago I had an ulcer removed and may bile ducts are lost under my tummy unable to be reached. So the gasto. Dr. Poked a hole in my tummy, into my gall bladder and put a tube in and everything now drains into a bag. After six weeks it will come out. Yuk!! And DARN!! My blood counts went down after he put this in. It's hard enough dealing with recovery, let alone this too. But I will survive. I also have to wear a brace that wraps around my left leg, making me walk dragging that leg. This , I guess, is so
                      I won't have a chance to bend. But it is a wicked brace. I kind of sling that left leg forward to walk. Ugh!!
                      It is alright that Dr. Lenke is being extra cautious, but my muscles are going to atrophy I'm afraid, because I'm not walking much. Dr. Lenke even said this was going to be a problem. But only for three months.
                      Thanks all for your prayers and good wishes. I will not hopefully go through this again. The surgery was really hard on my body. And anesthesia was hard to come out of. So careful I will be!!! Warm thoughts of you all, Linda
                      Congratulations on your awesome attitude! Do a little bit every day.....one more step each day.
                      Susan
                      Adult Onset Degen Scoliosis @65, 25* T & 36* L w/ 11.2 cm coronal balance; T kyphosis 90*; Sev disc degen T & L stenosis

                      2013: T3- S1 Fusion w/ ALIF L4-S1/XLIF L2-4, PSF T4-S1 2 surgeries
                      2014: Hernia @ ALIF repaired; Emergency screw removal SCI T4,5 sec to PJK
                      2015: Rev Broken Bil T & L rods and no fusion: 2 revision surgeries; hardware P. Acnes infection
                      2016: Ant/Lat Lumbar diskectomy w/ 4 cages + BMP + harvested bone
                      2018: Removal L4,5 screw
                      2021: Removal T1 screw & rod

                      Comment


                      • #71
                        Sorry to hear what you are having to endure. You are strong and will get thru this.

                        Prayers

                        Melissa
                        Melissa

                        Fused from C2 - sacrum 7/2011

                        April 21, 2020- another broken rod surgery

                        Comment


                        • #72
                          It was great speaking with you today and with Karen the other day.
                          44 years old at time of surgery, Atlanta GA

                          Pre-Surgery Thorasic: 70 degrees, Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 68 degrees, lost 4 inches of height in 2011
                          Post-Surgery curves ~10 degrees, regained 4 inches of height

                          Posterior T3-sacrum & TLIF surgeries on Nov 28, 2011 with Dr. Lenke, St. Louis
                          2 rods, 33 screws, 2 cages, 2 connectors, living a new life I never dreamed of!

                          http://thebionicachronicles.blogspot.com/

                          Comment


                          • #73
                            Linda

                            Wow! Have you been through the mill....

                            Ok, so I understand this correctly, you had a complete T2-Pelvis revision? Complete hardware removal and replacement? I guess we should call this procedure “The works”. Did they do an anterior?

                            I lost my gall bladder 15 months post scoli surgeries.....Karen Ocker explained to me that since we are fed with superfood’s in the NPO state, there isn’t fat or enough fat to trigger the release of the bile out of the gall bladder. When the bile becomes stagnant, it creates a gall sludge and can solidify.....After 15 months, the CT’s showed golf ball sized stones and they had to yank it due to gall bladder attacks. I had CT’s done 6 months before my scoli surgeries due to a kidney stone. The radiologist noted that the huge gall stones were not present at that time, so it proves that is was a scoliosis surgery complication.

                            This must be an attempt to try and save your gall bladder.....If so, that’s interesting....If they need to remove it, its no biggie....piece of cake.

                            One day at a time, one step at a time....you know the drill.

                            Hang in there, post when you can.

                            Ed
                            49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
                            Pre surgery curves T70,L70
                            ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
                            Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

                            Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
                            http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

                            My x-rays
                            http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

                            http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

                            Comment


                            • #74
                              Glad you're home Linda and standing straight and tall! I hope you can cope with that brace for three months. Sorry to hear about your gall bladder problem. Like Ed, I too had gall stones and had my gall bladder out last August, about 3.5 years post op. I'd been having the pain since my fusion surgery but didn't know what it was. It was a simple surgery, operated on at 4pm, home for lunch the next day. I didn't even need pain killers because I had no pain, just swelling.

                              Let's hope you've come to the end of your complications and it's all plain sailing from now on!
                              Surgery March 3, 2009 at almost 58, now 63.
                              Dr. Askin, Brisbane, Australia
                              T4-Pelvis, Posterior only
                              Osteotomies and Laminectomies
                              Was 68 degrees, now 22 and pain free

                              Comment


                              • #75
                                This is just the greatest place to be able to get so much good info. I am not wearing the brace yet, as when I got home it cut into my right hip so bad that It brought me to tears.(not easy to do ). So we have to take it to a place that makes braces to get it adjusted. And that's 200 miles away. I'm trying to get my appt. at the same time with a gastro. specialist in the same town. We live out in the boon docks!! 200mi. From any city in So. Dak. I am being extra,extra careful not to BLT. I have to see a gastro .dr. to get this bag off me. And it's slow getting into see one.
                                Ed you are right when you said they opened me clear up and put new rods in.then tightened the screws. Plus he added extra rods in lumbar and sacrum area . It was all posterior, as Dr. Lenke uses the method of going around front from the back. Good for me,as I'v had lots of abdominal surgeries. (lots of scar tissue).
                                The methadone was originally prescribed by a pain specialist ten yrs. ago for fibromyalgia. Then all the spine pain started seven yrs. ago and they just kept me on it. Now I want off this stuff , it's going to take a specialist to know what they're doing. It has caused me a lot more bad than good. The reason the Dr . Said it was good is for. chronic pain it lasts a long time. Supposedly not a drug that hurts the liver, and has no euphoric feeling at all. But one bad side effect called nodding off. And that's what happened when I fell. (Standing up sound asleep) and broke the rod down by my left iliac screw. Wish I could go back and do things different. But not possible. I guess we all have a lot to deal with. So I will God Bless you all and I'll say goodbye for now. Linda
                                Linda Brozik~~60 yrs. old at time of Lenke's first surgery. 62 now!
                                Surgery 2006 L3/4 L4/5 double fusion/ instumentation/ With 2 cages
                                This started adult onset scoliosis
                                July 1st, 2010/ surgery ~~fused T10 to pelvis (long rods/ screws)
                                Oct.20th 2010, extended rods to T4 / did osteotomy at L3
                                Oct. 29th 2012 Dr. Lenke St. Louis Mo. T4 to sacrum osteotomy anterior cage L3/4 titanium rods
                                May 30th 2013 revision
                                May 8th cervicle surgery 2016
                                May 31st Dr. Gupta revision 2017

                                Comment

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