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  • Rod broke

    My 16 year old daughter had scoliosis surgery three years ago. X-rays today said there was a break in one of the rods. The doctor said to wait until July to look at it again but that the surgery will have to be redone eventually.
    Terri in California

  • #2
    Hi...

    Sorry about the bad news. That must have been upsetting. Did the surgeon say why s/he wanted to wait until July? A broken rod means that the fusion didn't take in at least that one spot.

    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


    • #3
      Rod broke

      Thanks for the reply. No mention of non fusion. I believe he said there was good fusion. She has a long rod in her upper back with a shorter one on the bottom. The doctor said the broken rod could cause stress on the other rod causing it to break. It makes sense that there is not good fusion at that area if it could cause instability. I going to get another opinion for certain.
      Terri in California

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      • #4
        Terri...

        Where in California are you? Also, if you don't mind, who is your daughter's surgeon?

        --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


        • #5
          Rod broke

          We're in N. California in San Ramon. Her doctor for the surgery was Dr. Peter Slabaugh in Oakland. Her latest x-rays were taken at Kaiser and we discussed surgery with Dr. James Shively in Oakland. I picked up her x-rays today and talked again with Dr. Shively. There is a 59 degree curve in her lower spine and the upper is now 47. Real disappointing since we started out at about 60 in the lower spine. It looks like there weren't enough screws placed and the curve just progressed and broke the rod. I wish there was another option besides repeat surgery. Any thoughts?
          Terri in California

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          • #6
            Hi Terri...

            I personally don't know of other alternatives. The good news is that most of the people I know who have had to go back to surgery to fix hardware tell me that the second surgery was much easier than the first.

            Since her curve progressed back to the original 60 degrees, it sounds like none of the fusions took. If she were my daughter, I'd push for revision surgery sooner rather than later.

            Good luck!

            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
              Broken Rod also

              My daughter, now 15, also had the rod installed in her lower back almost 2 years ago. Recently we went to what we thought was going to be her last visit to the surgeon to be rrelease, but instead the new xrays showed her bar broke. The surgeon did not have much to say, except to come back in 6 months and we would review options.

              I was alarmed to know first that my daughter now has a broken bar in her back and they might have to do this all over again, but more upset at the little to no information I have found on this happening. I an relieved to find someone out there has also seen this. Any and all information regarding this issue would be appreciated. These poor kids go through this only to have to do it again!
              Jim Lessard
              jglessard@yahoo.com

              Comment


              • #8
                Hi Jim...

                If you're interesting in doing research, you might want to search on "pseudarthrosis" which is sometimes spelled "pseudoarthrosis."

                Who was your daughter's surgeon?

                --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
                  Thanks for the response and information. Dr Shindel here in Phx Az was the surgeon.
                  Jim Lessard
                  jglessard@yahoo.com

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Hi Jim...

                    If you want a second opinion, you might want to try Dr. Dennis Crandall or Dr. William Stevens.

                    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


                    • #11
                      Linda,
                      Do you know if Dr. David Levine in NYC has retired?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Hi...

                        Yes, according to my SRS roster, he has retired.

                        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

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