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  • #16
    hey ryan, im sienna(14 also) and just had spinal fusion 2 weeks ago on March 13. although i had did have shewermans kyphosis, which is a hunch and not an s shape, it is basically the same process' to repair. I had T2-L2 fused from the front (anterior) and the metal rodding in the back (posterior). surgery went smooth and only took about 10 hours, which was faster than expected.
    I was in Shriners' for 8 days but 7 after the sugery. the first day was just preperation. looking back it wasnt too bad. i was up sitting in a chair by the second day and walking stairs the 3rd (that was kinda a joke). the doctors all try and get you up and walking as much as possible, when they do it is a pain but just remember it is for the best! they said it to me all the time and i complained but now that i look back i feel better and know that is what got me out in 7 days also record timing for anterior/posterior!!
    it was in my opion, well worth it. i have grown an inch so far, but this was only 2 days after surgery and i was slouching when they measured me. i expect to grow a total of an 1 and 1/2 to 2 inches.
    the pain is uncomfortable...as you can assume from any surgery. it is important that once at home you first start out with constant medication and dont let the pain become to much where the medicine doesnt work. i had some expericneces to where i waited to take it and i was in tears because I was still in pain after taking the max dose of medicine. today was my first day with almost no meds. i took 2 vikodin at 8am and was in a comfy state until 6:30 that night!!!
    I feel the worst pain is actually in my front side. they went through and took out a rib to use as bone graft for my back, so im brused and stuff so it hurts to put pressure in that area. lucky for you, you will not be experiencing that. my back dosent bother me to much during the day. at night i still get quite a bit of back pain and I think that is because i am not in motion and im am moving less than during the day, obviously that happens while sleeping I think that my muscles get tight or something because I wake up around 1am in quite a bit of pain. As I said before, I find that I need pain medication before going to be and at night but not much at all during the day anymore. if i could describe the pain i would say that it pain is more in the muscles and skin and not so much in my spine itself. it feels like bad bruising or like you pulled something.
    I played basketball which of course will not be happening this season. it is hard to be told that you can't do something that you love. my doctor also told me that i should never sky dive or water ski. that really bothered me not becuase it was something that i was planning to do or do now but i guess because now i can't even if i wanted to. now it doesn't bother me as much and i guess you get used to it.
    It has only been 2 weeks so I am living "post op" life. Let me know if you have any more questions. I'll update you if anything new developes. keep me posted. i hope all goes well for you and i think you will be just fine!!

    ~Sienna
    posterior/anterior fusion T2-L2
    March 13 Shriners - Sacramento

    Comment


    • #17
      Hi Ryan,

      My 14 year old daughter had surgery on March 14. Like you, she only had a single curve. The procedure only took 3 hours, that was including sewing her back up! She had the procedure on Tuesday and came home Saturday. She loved having the morphine pump in the hospital, basically all she did was sleep, which was important to begin the healing process. She had two "bad days" when she came home from the hospital. Not due to pain from the surgery, as you would think, but from intense stomach pain, due to the anesthesia. She was on the verge of becoming dehydrated, but I kept forcing her to drink, even though she did not want to. By day three at home, she started feeling much better, her appitite started to come back. She has been home seven days now, and the pain is minimal. She hasn't taken any pain medications since her first day home. She is up and around, on line and text messaging her friends, eating, drinking and feeling good. She no longer needs help to get out of bed. Basically, she is her old self. We see the dr. tomorrow morning and are anxious to hear what she can and can not do. Like everyone else says, worrying about the surgery is the worse part of all this! Good luck with everything, you've come to a great place for support!

      Comment


      • #18
        lhaag,
        thanks for the reply. wow thats amazing that your already back on here and tlaking especially with such a long and strenuous procedure. man 10 hours thats awesome that your already back and on the computer. yea it is really hard knowing that you wont be able to play the sports or anyother extraterestrial activities due to the surgery, but like you sed it will all be for the best.
        you sed you wanted me to keep u posted on my surgery well my curve is about 50 degrees probably now and i will hopefully only be treated for one curve (theres been some pain in my lower back and i think its starting to pertrude down in my lower back now so i dont kno) my surgery date is april 17th and hopefully everything goes smooth from there. my surgery is aproxamitely going to be 3-4 hours i think and a hospital stay of 3-5 days post-op. but everything else seems like you'll be going through these next few weeks. some questions i have; how long is your full recovery time approximated as? (mine is a around 4 months) and what other things do you know for sure you wont be able to dobesides water ski and etc.?
        well thats all for know appreciate the reply.
        Ryan
        my name is Ryan Kelsch
        i have a curve of 45-50 degrees
        and my surgery is scheduled for aApril 17th

        Comment


        • #19
          suzmob,
          you are exactly right. i know i wouldve been traumitized going into surgery if it werent for all of the help and support i recieve on this site!!! its great to hear from a person who had the same procedure i will be having soon(for the single curve), it seems like everyone else is in a lot worse shape than i am being treated for the double curve. something thats really been sticking to me lately is that everytime i walk into childrens hospital in cincinnati is that i realize how much worse shape i could be in. i mean its a trip ereveytime i go. i could be in a wheelchair or even worse never communicate or even get the oppurtunity to play anything at all. between visits there and my expereiences on here my outlook on myself is totally differnt. i thought i had it bad untill i walked into childrens hospital. IT COULD ALWAYS BE WORSE is what my mom told me and she is definatley right. thanks for your support and eveything, i am really glad to hear your daughter is doing alright. her story brightens my outlook even more!!! thanks again

          Ryan
          my name is Ryan Kelsch
          i have a curve of 45-50 degrees
          and my surgery is scheduled for aApril 17th

          Comment


          • #20
            Hi Ryan,
            My 15 year old daughter is having surgery at Children's in Cincinnati April 7th. Did you schedule a tour? We took one the day Breanne went for all of her pre-op tests. (blood work , EKG etc.) So you're having BMprotien for your graph? We asked our surgeon Dr.Wall about using this and he said it wasn't something he used for her surgery. I would be interested in hearing more about this if you know any more details. Please feel free to ask us any questions as we will be just a week or so ahead of you at CHMC. My daugter also plays soccer and is very bummed about not being able to play this Fall.

            Take Care,
            Kate

            Comment


            • #21
              Hi Ryan,

              Just wanted to mention that Joe gained almost 2" after his surgery. It varies though, some people, even those with large curves, do not gain much in height.

              I also wanted to ask you, what will your dr. use instead of an autologous bone graph. Will he use donor bone or bone morphogenetic protein? I'm just curious b/c last I heard BMP was only approved for limited use in adults, not approved for use in children.

              Renee

              Comment


              • #22
                hello Ryan

                Hello Ryan
                I had a curve pretty much like yours. 58 degrees when I got my operation and that was 30 years ago. (Sounds like the dark ages eh?) I was in hospital for 3 months. Can you imagine that?
                Laid completely flat for 4 weeks on a Stryker bed, which was turned manually, if the nurses didn't spin it at the same time it was very painful! I had to lay on a frame to have a plaster cast put on and laid out on springs for 24 hours to dry..............thank goodness things have changed
                I was lucky enough to have a 'standing up' bed and was allowed to stand up for 1 minute, which was gradually increased.
                If you are young, fit and flexible the surgeons will get a better correction - and most youngsters are.
                Pain management has progressed so much now Ryan and you can learn so much from sites like this.
                Good luck and we'll look forward to your story soon.
                warm regards
                Gail in England

                Comment


                • #23
                  dear kate,
                  thanks for your warm regards, and i definately didnt expect your daughter to be in the same hospital that i will be in. shows how small of a world it really is!! well anyways about my tour, it is scheduled for the date of your daughters surgery, April 7th. all of my tests and everything will also be done that day. my first blood donation is actually tomorrow so i am very anxious to see how that will go.
                  yes i am having the BMprotein supplement instead of the usual bone graph from either hip, rib, etc. my surgeon Dr. Atiq Duranni is the only dr that uses the bmprotein in the whole organization at childrens in cincinnati. he has been using this method for 2 years and has yet had anything go wrong with this surgery (which was glad to hear), but the pros of using this instead of the graph is that the recovery time (well for my first opionion with using the graph and so on) was around 1 year approximately, with the protein supplement it has been knocked down to around 4 months and with me being so atheletic was great to hear. ill ask my parents and reply later with more information on this method........thanks for the reply!!
                  ryan
                  my name is Ryan Kelsch
                  i have a curve of 45-50 degrees
                  and my surgery is scheduled for aApril 17th

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Dear renee,
                    for my surgery my dr., Dr. Atiq Duranni, will be using the BMprotein supplement instead of the regular graph for hp, rib, etc. i havent heard anything about it not being issused or allowed in use for adolescents but from my understranding it is?? Dr. Duranni had used this method for over 2 years in adolescents and adulkts, and has yet had nothing to go wrong (knock on wood), which brightened my outlook even more knowing that my recovery time will now be around 4 months instead of 1 year that i was approximated in early february from Dr. roemiller at the Cincinnati Spine INstitute. i actually do not know anyhitng else about it, i will ask tomorrow when i go for a checkup and bllod donation and see if i can have some more of your qeustions and mine answered. thanks again fro everything!!!
                    ryan
                    my name is Ryan Kelsch
                    i have a curve of 45-50 degrees
                    and my surgery is scheduled for aApril 17th

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Hi Ryan,
                      Thanks for the info on BMP. I think I'll chat with our spine nurse about the possibility of a combination of BMP and her own bone graft. I have read about this combination method in adults. Good luck with your preop appt. and blood donations. Breanne had to donate 4 units! She did so well but was very good about taking her iron and vitamin C 3 times each day. Eating a lot of fruits and vegetables also helps the whole process. Maybe you'll see us pacing the waiting room when you go to meet the child life specialist for your tour. Please keep Breanne in your prayers as we will keep you in ours!
                      Kate

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Kate and Ryan,

                        I think it would be awesome if you two actually had a chance to meet in person!
                        I am keeping you both in my prayers.

                        Kate, why did your daughter have to donate 4 units? Just curious cause that's the most I've heard of so far - is she having an A/P fusion?

                        Ryan,

                        I am not knocking the BMP for fusions in any way. It sounds promising, and if it's as safe, and has as good a "total" fusion rate as an autologous approach, and will save the patient pain and recovery time, then I say, great- go for it! I'm only concerned about whether or not it is safe (and therefore worth it) for an adolescent patient.

                        Renee
                        Last edited by flowerpower; 03-28-2006, 11:07 PM.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Ryan,
                          My daughter Shelby is having surgery June 19th and her doctor wants to use the BMP on her as well. I have e-mailed his nurse to get some info on it as Renee had replied that when she inquired about it the cost was $3-4,000 a vertabrae and insurance did not cover it. Our doctor did mention in passing that it was expensive but said it was well worth the money. I want to be able to do whatever to help in Shelby's recovery but she will be fused from T3 to L3 and that is alot of vertabrae. I am curious to see what your doctor says today.

                          Thanks and good luck,
                          Kathy

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            hi Kate,
                            yea we might very well run into eachother that day!! my first blood donation went alright, as good as it will get i guess. but we stopped at st. luke east hospittal in northern kentucky to see one of my dads good friends that had had an emergency surgery and all of a sudden i passed out, the next thing i knew there were 10 nurses and a doctor standing over me checking me from head to toe. but everything is fine now. we didnt get to meet with dr. duranni today we had to reschedule, now we will see him the day of our tour. so i hadnt gotten any more information on the BMP. i guess i dont know what happened to me today, i have been taking my iron and vitamin c as required, 3 times a day, and have been eating rather healthy as of late. i guess with it just being my first time ever donating blood it was maybe a shock. well you all are definatly in my prayers and they will stay there until she is fully recouperated. thanks again
                            ryan
                            my name is Ryan Kelsch
                            i have a curve of 45-50 degrees
                            and my surgery is scheduled for aApril 17th

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Dear Renee,
                              those are some excellentquestions that i need to have answered before my surgery. if wether or not it is safe, reliable, and worth the cost (but i know my health is more important and my parents are more worried about my helth then the cost). but as far as i know and i have red on the internet and eveything, it doesnt say anything about it being unissused in adolescents, but i will definatly find out on April 7th. like i said earlier my surgeon had been doing this type of surgery for over 2 years and has yet nothing to go wron (knock on wood again) whuch is wonderful news. i will keep you updated on the news. thanks
                              Ryan
                              my name is Ryan Kelsch
                              i have a curve of 45-50 degrees
                              and my surgery is scheduled for aApril 17th

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                dear Kathy,
                                im sorry to tell you that i didnt get to see my surgeon today, so i will have to wait until april 7th in order to get more info on this procedure. from what i have been reading on the internet it is well worth the cost and is very accurate. my surgeon even replied that it will grow the bone nack stronger than a regular graph would grow, and faster. so when you can have better and faster its almost a given which procedure you will go with. im not trying to decide for you, but from what i have been reading it is definately worth it. i am still kind of curious about the safe hazards going in but from the information my surgiical nurse gave me it is the same. paralysis, blindness, etc. but these are very unlikely to happen just as in any spine surgery paralysis is a key hazard. but some type of method dr duranni uses sounds an alarm when within an inch or so of the spinasl cord to almost eliminate the possibility of paralysis, which i was more then happy to hear. i will definatly keep all of you guys updated on any information about BMP i can recieve. thank you all again!!!
                                Ryan
                                my name is Ryan Kelsch
                                i have a curve of 45-50 degrees
                                and my surgery is scheduled for aApril 17th

                                Comment

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