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  • Bone graft pain

    I was just wondering about how long it took for the pain from the bone graft site (iliac crest) to go away. I do not have a separate incision, my scar just goes off to the right side at an angle for an inch or two where it was taken. Mine has let up a lot since I got home, and I'm only at two and a half weeks post-op...but some days I don't notice pain in my hip at all and some days it really hurts! I can't figure out if I'm doing something to cause it to hurt more on some days than others (laying in a certain position or in one position too long, sitting up too much/overdoing it, walking?). It just seems to hurt randomly. I know it's normal for the bone graft site to hurt, but how long did it take until it stopped altogether?

  • #2
    Hi Ashley,

    It seems like mine hurt on and off like for the first 2 months. Have you noticed if the weather affects you at all? Some days when the weather is changing to a damp and rainy condition I feel like I've been hit by a truck! That's not just at the iliac site but all over. If I remember right, I think an ice pack is what helped with the most.
    Theresa

    April 8 & 12, 2004 - Anterior/Posterior surgery 15 hours & 7 hours
    Thorasic - 79 degree down to 22
    Lumbar - 44 degree down to 18
    Fused T2 to sacrum
    June 2, 2005 - Pedicle subtraction osteotomy @L3 7 hours
    MAY 21, 2007 - Pedicle subtraction osteotomy @ L2, extended the fusion to S2 and added pelvic instrumentation 9 hours

    FUSED T2 - SACRUM 2

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    • #3
      Mine hurt at times even more than my back for at least a year, and even now I still get some pain at times when it's humid. I have a seperate scar on my hip though.
      35 y/old female from Montreal, Canada
      Diagnosed with scoliosis(double major) at age 12, wore Boston brace 4 years at least 23 hours a day-curve progressed
      Surgery age 26 for 60 degree curve in Oct. 1997 by Dr.Max Aebi-fused T5 to L2
      Surgery age 28 for a hook removal in Feb. 1999 by Dr.Max Aebi-pain free for 5 years
      Surgery age 34 in Dec.2005 for broken rod replacement, bigger screws and crosslinks added and pseudarthrosis(non union) by Dr. Jean Ouellet

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      • #4
        I have noticed it hurting more on rainy/cold days, but I thought it might just be a coincidence, but maybe it's not.

        And it does hurt all over my hip, and down my right thigh when it's bad...though I'm not sure if the leg pain is due to the bone graft or my hip flexor that a PT thinks was strained from my position during surgery. I couldn't sit up without lots of pain in that leg for several days after I got home. It's still difficult to raise my leg up (like when I'm getting in bed or pulling my legs up on the sofa) but it's getting better. My hip definitely causes more pain than my back. I could probably deal with the muscle spasms in my back with muscle relaxer only, I take the pain meds mostly because of the hip pain.

        Thanks for the responses.

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        • #5
          Hi All

          I know my posting comes quite awhile after the initial thread, but the issue is still valid.

          I am almost 1 month post-op and am experiencing the same kind of bone graft pain as described in this thread. I never know when it is going to act up, although it seems to "strike" when I get in bed for the night. I have tried ice, oxycontin, percocet, and a lidoderm pain patch. The pain still lasts a long time before it begins to subside.

          Is there some new insight on this problem? Is there anything you are doing that you have found brings on this pain? Any solutions (other than those I list) that work for you?

          Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

          Karen
          Karen, 66 years "young"
          Polio at 6
          Diagnosed with scoliosis at school; no treatment
          Lumbar curve in 2005: 40; moderate pain
          Lumbar curve in 2009: 55; pain severe
          Lumbar curve after surgery: 21
          Surgeon - Dr. William Lauerman, Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC
          Three surgeries in one week:
          8/24/09 L3 to S1 anterior spinal fusion with Harm cage
          8/28/09 Posterior spinal fusion from T10 to S1 with instrumentation
          9/1/09 Partial revision of instrumentation

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          • #6
            i believe the barometer drops when it is about to rain...the change in air pressure causes trouble for people with arthritis, migraines, surgery incisions, etc...
            with my arthritis, i am always praying for a drought!

            hope you feel better soon..

            jess

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            • #7
              Thanks, Jess

              We have had some dry weather here in MD, but today it is supposed to rain. Enough time has not yet passed for me to tell if barometric pressure plays a role in the bone graft pain acting up.

              Yesterday, I called my surgeon's nurse-practitioner and asked her advice about the bone graft pain. Here is what she suggested:

              1) Use ice on the graft site over the course of the day and in bed as well (I had only put ice on when the pain actually kicked up).

              2) Put my 5% lidocaine patch on the site before I go to bed (again, I had only done this after the pain started).

              3) Make sure I have taken my allowable pain meds (oxycontin and percocet)

              4) Take one 2mg valium because I was having spasms at the bone graft site.

              All I can say is that I had a pain-free night and didn't wake until 8AM this morning. Since I'm still not sure what actually triggers the graft pain, this is not a valid test. But, I had the best night's sleep in years!

              Cheers!

              Karen
              Karen, 66 years "young"
              Polio at 6
              Diagnosed with scoliosis at school; no treatment
              Lumbar curve in 2005: 40; moderate pain
              Lumbar curve in 2009: 55; pain severe
              Lumbar curve after surgery: 21
              Surgeon - Dr. William Lauerman, Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC
              Three surgeries in one week:
              8/24/09 L3 to S1 anterior spinal fusion with Harm cage
              8/28/09 Posterior spinal fusion from T10 to S1 with instrumentation
              9/1/09 Partial revision of instrumentation

              Comment

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