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Feeling hardware in my back

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  • Feeling hardware in my back

    I had my forth surgery on Aug 11. They had to refuse T 10-11 from it not healing properly from the previous surgery. Now 6 mths later I can feel the hardware in my back. I never had this problem before when I had the hardware in from my previous surgeries. I am very thin and always have been. Maybe this is why I can feel it. It makes me nervous that something is not right and maybe I am not healing properly again. The last time I was in to see my dr he took a x-ray and said everything was healing ok.
    I am due to go back into surgery again in may for fusion of L4-5 S1. I am very nervous about his surgery. I am nervous that it will not take away my pain and that it is my 5 surgery and am only 24.
    Has anyone experienced these problems with the hardware or has anyone had fusion of L4-5 S1?
    Sarah 25 yrs old- Married with three english bulldogs

    1995-Surgery for scoliosis fused T3-L3.
    2000-Surgery for Rod breaking, relaced rod and took out upper rods.
    March 2005-Surgery for removal of all rods.
    August 2005-Fusion of T10-T11 due to crack in fusion, Rods put back in.
    August 2006- Surgery for fusion from L4 to sacrum.

  • #2
    My 14 y.o. daughter is very thin-weighs about 94 pounds--and you can feel one of her rods, but only at the top of the rod. Her doctor checks the x-rays very closely at every appointment to make sure there isn't a problem and so far, thank God there hasn't been any problem. He told us before surgery that with her being so thin, there was a good chance that we'd be able to feel her rods.

    Mary Lou
    Mom to Jamie age 21-diagnosed at age 12-spinal fusion 12/7/2004-fused from T3-L2; and Tracy age 19, mild Scoliosis-diagnosed at age 18.

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    • #3
      Hi...

      Sorry to hear about your problem. I often hear from people who say they can feel their implants. I can't remember anyone ever saying that that feeling does away, so you may just need to learn to live with it until it's safe for the implants to be removed.

      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


      • #4
        I'm thin too and I can feel the top of my rods but it's not bothersome. And I'll need the L-4 L-5 S-1 fusion someday (I'm 25), the disks between those vertabrae are wearing out. Best of luck to you!

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        • #5
          I can actually feel one of the 'holders' for the pedicle screw in my back. It's kinda weird. Aside from feeling the hardware I can still feel a couple of the stitches underneath my skin from where my surgeon sewed my muscles back together. Kinda gross, but you learn to adjust. It's nothing to be alarmed about.
          25 yr old female =^_^=
          Thoracic curve 48 degrees (with kyphosis)
          Lumbar curve 23 degrees
          surgery from t5-l1 25 July 2005
          Two rods and 16 screws later . . . 0 degrees YAY!

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          • #6
            feeling hardware in my back

            I can feel the hardware in my back also. I am very thin also. My Dr. says it's normal for people to feel the hardware when they are thin. I was thin before surgery but after 3 of them I lost a lot of weight approximately 30 pounds. It is hard to put it back on but little by little I am. It has been 4 months since my last surgery and I am doing great. I do not have to take any pain meds.
            Have started my PT and feel pretty good. I wish you the best of luck. When people have been through what we have been through it's hard to know how to feel without having constant pain.

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            • #7
              feeling hardware

              I think your lucky if you have been through that many surgeries
              and just started feeling your hardware. I have an 18 in herrington rod for
              the last 30 years. I have always felt it. More so when I am physically active.
              As time passes you feel it less but it will always be there, hopefully
              you'll be able to adapt to it. I wish I could have told you otherwise.

              goagain

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              • #8
                I'm sorry to hear about your pain and continued surgeries. I'm 22 and have had 3 scoli surgeries thus far. I'm told I'll need at least one more in the future also due to disc degeneration (luckily a recent MRI shows little degenerations so far). Some surgeons now do disc replacement with an artificial disc instead of fusion, which may save some flexibility if you are a candidate. It may be worth looking into. Where are you located?

                I don't have the rod problem, however, because my 3rd surgery was anterior, so the rods are on the front of my spine. My first set was on the back, though, and I could feel those.
                ScoliMed is Katie
                22 years old

                Diagnosed at 13, thoracic 38, lumbar 49
                Posterior fusion 1999
                Failed, lumbar curve to 70
                Posterior removal 2000
                Anterior fusion 2000, thoracic 26, lumbar 37
                Still in pain, tried almost everything!
                Currently in medical school

                Comment


                • #9
                  ScoliMed,

                  I am located in California near los angeles. My surgeon is very good and i have very much faith in him. How was the anterior surgery. That is what i am facing this summer. Actually anterior-posterior. I am nervous about the scar. I know that sounds so stupid, that should be the least of my worries. How big is your scar and where does it start and end?

                  As far as feeling my hardware, it is so weird because i could never feel the rods before. I had rods put in when i was 14 and didnt get them taken out until I was 23 and never felt a thing. Then when part of the rod was put back in when this last Aug now i can totally feel them. It doesnt hurt me but it does gross me out when I feel my back or look into the mirror. Im not sure if they put a different kind of rod in, maybe thicker? Oh well not a big deal. I am not sure if my dr does the replacement of the disc. I will have to ask him. Pretty much I just have to give him the date of when I want the surgery and I go in. I wonder if the whole disc replacement would have a faster healing. The surgery that I will be having is fusion L 4-5 S-1. IS this what you are facing also? It sucks that we are so young and this will be my 5th surgery. Are you experiencing pain now? I am in pain everyday and I am ready to live a normal pain free life.
                  Thanks so much for responding. I hope to talk to you again soon.

                  Sarah
                  Sarah 25 yrs old- Married with three english bulldogs

                  1995-Surgery for scoliosis fused T3-L3.
                  2000-Surgery for Rod breaking, relaced rod and took out upper rods.
                  March 2005-Surgery for removal of all rods.
                  August 2005-Fusion of T10-T11 due to crack in fusion, Rods put back in.
                  August 2006- Surgery for fusion from L4 to sacrum.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Sarah,

                    My scar starts about 3 inches to the left of my belly button and continues by curving around my side and ending somewhere around my bra line just as it hits my back. I had to have a rib removed for the bone graft, which is why the incision curves around my ribcage. It's probably about 16 inches long. I haven't had both anterior-posterior at once, so best of luck with that! Sounds painful, but I'm sure with all you'll already been through you'll make it with flying colors. The scar bothered me at first, especially since I have the posterior one, too, but I'm used to it now. In fact, I kind of like the anterior one as I view it as my "battle wound". I hate my posterior one, but at least I don't have to see it myself everyday! My only concern is that if I would ever need a C-section once i start a family, there's another scar! I think we all worry about the cosmetic issues, too, even though they're not the most important (they are the most apparent).

                    Well, sometimes my physician says fusion, and sometimes he says disc replacement. I'm hoping if I put it off long enough the technology will be there to be disc replacement only. Luckily, I have little degeneration at L4/L5 and L5/S1 thus far. However, I have arthritis and bone spurs at those levels. I also have arthritis in my neck. I am too in constant pain, but most of it is muscular (I have a golf ball size "knot" that's been there since surgery) or arthritic. Let me know how everything goes! I long for the day when I'll be pain free! Hopefully this will be the solution for you. It is frustrating to face so many surgeries at such a young age, and I am sometimes envious of those who go through there first surgery with great success, but I know it has all made me a stronger person.

                    Katie
                    ScoliMed is Katie
                    22 years old

                    Diagnosed at 13, thoracic 38, lumbar 49
                    Posterior fusion 1999
                    Failed, lumbar curve to 70
                    Posterior removal 2000
                    Anterior fusion 2000, thoracic 26, lumbar 37
                    Still in pain, tried almost everything!
                    Currently in medical school

                    Comment

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