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  • Is it normal?? Please say

    I am a 20 year old female and new here. My surgery was when I was 18. At the beginning was all in order. And one month leter, when I too much sat, something happend with my Harrington Rod. Please look at photo. Possible is it normal, but I prefer to ask you. First time I have a contact with people which the same surgery had.

    Thanks,
    Julia

  • #2
    Julia...

    It's hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like the rod may have become unhooked at the top. You should try to find a scoliosis specialist who treats people with prior scoliosis fusions. Where do you live?

    --Linda
    Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
    Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

    Comment


    • #3
      Do you feel any discomfort, pinching or anything that you didn't feel before? Contact your doctor that did the surgery. If he isn't available find someone else that specializes in Scoliosis. It's hard to tell from the picture. I realize it's not easy for you to feel that portion of your back, but can someone else look at it and see if they feel the rod? I would look into it.
      1981 Surgery with Harrington Rod; fused from T2 to L3 - Dr.Keim (at 26 years old)
      2000 Partial Rod Removal
      2001 Right Scapular Resection
      12/07/2010 Surgical stabilization L3 through sacrum with revision harrington rod instrumentation, interbody fusion and pre-sacral fusion L5-S1 - Dr. Boachie (at 56 years old)
      06/11/14 - Posterior cervical fusion C3 - T3 (Mountaineer System) due to severely arthritic joints - Dr. Patrick O'Leary (at age 59)

      Comment


      • #4
        Thank you for the comments. I come from Poland and had surgery in my country. One month after surgery became I suddenly a pain and I can`t nothing to do (then I was afraid, that something unhooked). After that look my back like at the photo. I asked my doctor if is it in order. He said: “You are lean... ”. I had still doubt and when I twice asked he said: “probably may made Harrington Rod longer...”. So I don`t know how is in fact...

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        • #5
          That could be the case as I am very tiny, my ribs show at times, so naturally you would be able to see the rod more so than if you were heavier, but you said you felt something. If you are not in any pain, this could be so. If you are still doubting him, you should seek help with another specialist to confirm what this doctor is saying. I have learned you must be your own doctor. Keep asking questions until you are satisfied with the answers. Good luck!
          1981 Surgery with Harrington Rod; fused from T2 to L3 - Dr.Keim (at 26 years old)
          2000 Partial Rod Removal
          2001 Right Scapular Resection
          12/07/2010 Surgical stabilization L3 through sacrum with revision harrington rod instrumentation, interbody fusion and pre-sacral fusion L5-S1 - Dr. Boachie (at 56 years old)
          06/11/14 - Posterior cervical fusion C3 - T3 (Mountaineer System) due to severely arthritic joints - Dr. Patrick O'Leary (at age 59)

          Comment


          • #6
            Hi Julia...

            If you can get a picture of recent x-rays (front and side), I'm sure that I can find someone to confirm whether the rod has become unhooked. It's easy to take a photograph of an x-ray when the doctor is viewing the x-ray on a light box. Or, you can tape the x-ray onto a sunny window and take a photograph.

            Regards,
            Linda
            Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
            ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
            Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

            Comment


            • #7
              Thank you !!!
              There are my fotos.

              Comment


              • #8
                Hi Julia...

                First, I believe you have C-D rods, not Harrington rods. Second, were the x-rays taken after you started noticing a problem? The photo of your back makes it appear that the rod on the right is more prominent than the rod on the left. However, the x-rays make it appear that the rods are aligned with one another.

                --Linda
                Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
                ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
                Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

                Comment


                • #9
                  Hello! I don`t know whether have I C-D rods or Harrington rods... I thought that Harrington rods . The x-rays were taken after I noticed a problem.
                  Thanks, Julia

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Linda,

                    I was curious if you found a spine surgeon to look at her xrays and what he thought after viewing?

                    Gail

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Hi Gail...

                      No response yet. I'll try someone else.

                      --Linda
                      Never argue with an idiot. They always drag you down to their level, and then they beat you with experience. --Twain
                      ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Surgery 2/10/93 A/P fusion T4-L3
                      Surgery 1/20/11 A/P fusion L2-sacrum w/pelvic fixation

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Hi Ladies,
                        I think I know someone who can offer an opinion on this.This looks remarkably like what happened to him.he's two weeks post op for revision surgery for what seems to be the same problem with the rods.
                        Sins
                        Co founder Scoliosis Support Association Ireland.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Hello

                          I'm 16, from England and Sins pointed me towards this post 15 days ago my surgeon re-operated on me after the hooks at the top of my posterior instrumentation came out.

                          Last July I had anterior and posterior surgery for curves of about 30 and 50 degrees, with Synergy instrumentation, at Stanmore. I was fused from T3 to L3, and got very good correction of both curves, and of my kyphosis. The second or third time I tried to sit up, I felt a loud, painful click at the top of my instrumentation. They took x-rays that day to check all was OK, but the doctor didn't find anything wrong with them. I was able to sit up again the next day, and was discharged and recovered as normal.

                          When I was home I noticed I had a hard lump at the top of my scar, just to the right. It was unmistakeably metal, but I had assumed that because my discharge x-rays were fine, there was nothing wrong. I went to my three-month check-up and they found "signs of fusion" and again, nothing wrong.

                          This January, lasting about three weeks, I had a horrid pain in my back on the left side. I couldn't work out what it was from, and I was bedridden until painkillers had kicked in that day. Roughly at the same time, I started to feel another lump next to the original lump, and I lost all the correction of my kyphosis - my back and neck became very hunched forwards again. At the end of three weeks the pain eventually stopped, but I now had the back of two hooks visible through my skin (see hooks.jpg).

                          Last month I went back to see my surgeon 7 months post op, who said that most of my fusion was completely solid, looked at my back and immediately said that I had become unhooked, leading to loss of correction of my kyphosis and failure of T3 to fuse to T4, and he would fix it immediately by extending my fusion up to T1. On the 18th of March, 15 days ago, he did, opening up my whole posterior scar again to replace the rods with longer ones. He extended the fusion successfully, and now I am recovering from my revision. I am now fused T1-L3.

                          "kyphosis b+a.jpg" shows how bad my kyphosis became when I became unhooked, and how the revision has corrected it (again).

                          I realised that the click in hospital, and subsequent lump, was when I came off the right hand hook. The left hand hook was obviously not enough to hold the correction (he fused conservatively, trying to pull back a high kyphosis from very low down), and in January I fell off the other hook, leading to the pain I had (on the relevant side).

                          Julia, I think you've probably become unhooked.

                          Hope my story is useful!
                          Jonny

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                          • #14
                            Hello!
                            Thank you, Sins and Johnny for yours Post! It is for me very important what Johnny wrote. I look at your Photo, that I am probably in the same situation . However I don`t know what I can do... Some specialists looked my x-ray and didn't find anything wrong (too a doctor which operated).
                            I was after surgery very straight and then had I a hard lump at the top (like you), and next another lump and more one. Now above one year have I not pain. But I can`t found for example a chair.
                            Here are the same x-ray, but in better quality: http://gnu.univ.gda.pl/~hruscik/spine.html
                            Julia (sorry for my english!)

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Hi Julia,
                              Hopefully Linda can find someone medically qualified to give a better idea of what has happened.But that top right hook seems to be unhooked.Also you need to have your surgeon check the kyphosis above the fusion.Have you noticed a change in your posture?
                              Sins
                              Co founder Scoliosis Support Association Ireland.

                              Comment

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