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Am I doing the right thing?....

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  • Am I doing the right thing?....

    Hey there!

    I'm 24 and had harrington rods put in when I was 13 yrs old to correct a curvature on the right side of my back. I have no pain and I'm quite comfortable, the problem is the surgery left a prominent hump on the right side, it really blows my confidence knowing its there even though I know i'm not a bad looking girl...but i've been thinking more and more about if I can live with this or not and have decided that I want some sort of correction or a consultation at least as to why I have this hump for god's sake!

    Has anyone else gone through this? Or had any corrective surgery to reduce the hump?

    Surgery first time round was quite bad for me as I lost a lot of stamina and couldnt even walk for a while which is scaring me also...

    Please reply and give me your opinion on this...

    Love

    M x

    England.

  • #2
    Hi M...

    You might want to check out the procedure called a thoracoplasty here, which I believe is called a costoplasty in the UK.

    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

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    • #3
      hey

      i completely understand your concern. i had a spinal fusion at age three and now have a very prominent rib hump. since i stopped growing a few years ago i have been considering having a thorocaplasty. this is an operation where they cut the middle section of the ribs involved in the rib hump out and the ribs kind of "fall" in and then they grow back together in a less protruding way. it does not involve your spine at all and the recovery is similar to the recovery of a person who breaks their ribs. i've heard that there is a lot of discomfort and it will decrease your lung capasity by about five to ten percent... i 've been debating about doing this for several years and i think i'm finally going to do it this summer...i believe the discomfort will be worth the increase in confidence and appearance...i completely agree with your comment about being attractive but having a rib hump...a lot of guys have told me that i have a pretty face and hair and other girl parts but my back is just so prominent that i think it kind of ruins it. well you can private message me anytime if you want!

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      • #4
        hi, M

        linda's right, we call it a costoplasty or a thoracoplasty over here, which is a surgical procedure to flatten out your ribs. where and by whom were you treated? there's also a link to a forum which is mainly populated by brits in my signature, many of whom have had successful costoplasties and can help you with what you want to know
        diagnosed aged 14 (2001)
        braced from july 2001 to february 2003 to hold curves
        fused T11-L3 on july 16th 2005 (aged 18)
        Discharged by surgeon july 11th 2007 (aged 20 and almost 2 years post-op)
        scoliosis support forum

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        • #5
          hey guys!

          Hey guys thanks so much for replying to my message...I'll message you both if thats ok? Hope you check your messages!

          Love

          M xx

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          • #6
            rib hump

            I've heard both good and bad things about rib hump removal. I have made the choice to keep mine. I already have a scar srom the top of my neck to my tail bone and one on each hip. So cosmeticly I could care less. Mine is only noticable when I bend over which isn't that often since it hurts to do so. There was one site that a 25 year old woman told her story about rib removal and it didn't go so good. First they didn't take enough ribs out during the first surgery so she still had a hump, and then she had a punctured lung that collapsed because of the removed ribs. It all worked out in the end, but she said it was a long 2 year process. Good luck with your decision. Don't mean to scare you but in her story she said that noone mentioned to her that this was a possibility, so I thought You should know incase you didn't already.

            Georgian
            spinal fusion 1985 T-6 to L-3, revision surgery T-3 to T-6 in 2005.

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