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This is my very first post. However, I already feel like I have a group of friends who will be very important people in my life. I especially appreciate Karen and Linda and Pam who have helped so many people on the forum. My biggest fear has been that I'll post a question and nobody will reply. Well, I suppose we have to face our dragons!
Here’s my abbreviated history: I had a 59* “C” curve at age 14 and Dr. Tom Brown at Stanford Hospital fused from L4 to T1 without instrumentation - 1966. I was in a plaster body cast for a year post-op. My curve was reduced to 29*. I simply forgot that I ever had a problem and did absolutely everything – down-hill skiing, technical rock climbing, backpacking. No limits.
In my late forties, I started getting back pain. My curve had progressed to 42*. I finally quit my work as a child care provider at age 50, because of back pain and my Alzheimer’s mom needing help. I began doing yoga and Pilates on a daily basis. My pain decreased as I gained strong abs and more flexibility. However, the curves continued to get worse and the pain gradually returned. Now, at age 55, I have a 60* curve.
Since there are no adult scoliosis specialist in Utah (my home state) I selected Dr. Boachie in New York . . . even before finding the forum and reading other people's experience with him. Surgery has been set for May 20th. The written surgical plan includes a thoracoplasty, something we didn't discuss during my initial appointment. I found the forum and discovered that it was a cosmetic procedure. I called Dr. Boachie's nurse and told her that I am perfectly happy with my rib hump and would prefer to avoid the thoracoplasty. She said it was a necessary procedure, because it would create more room for my lungs as well as providing bone graft material.
I have read over 70 posts on thoracoplasty and I am still confused. Some forum members talk about thoracoplasty as being the REMOVAL of ribs, sometimes as many as five or six ribs. Others seem to indicate that they had a segment of certain ribs removed. Does a thoracoplasty mean either the removal of the entire rib or a part of the rib? If an entire rib is taken, can it truly grow back?
I also wonder about the risks of a thoracoplasty. One post indicated that the chest cavity is smaller after this procedure. That runs counter to the idea of creating more room for my lungs, as explained by the nurse. A few people say that there will be lung complications down the road. If there has been any research conducted on thoracoplasty, I would appreciate learning anything you know about this procedure.
Thank you!
Ginger
Here’s my abbreviated history: I had a 59* “C” curve at age 14 and Dr. Tom Brown at Stanford Hospital fused from L4 to T1 without instrumentation - 1966. I was in a plaster body cast for a year post-op. My curve was reduced to 29*. I simply forgot that I ever had a problem and did absolutely everything – down-hill skiing, technical rock climbing, backpacking. No limits.
In my late forties, I started getting back pain. My curve had progressed to 42*. I finally quit my work as a child care provider at age 50, because of back pain and my Alzheimer’s mom needing help. I began doing yoga and Pilates on a daily basis. My pain decreased as I gained strong abs and more flexibility. However, the curves continued to get worse and the pain gradually returned. Now, at age 55, I have a 60* curve.
Since there are no adult scoliosis specialist in Utah (my home state) I selected Dr. Boachie in New York . . . even before finding the forum and reading other people's experience with him. Surgery has been set for May 20th. The written surgical plan includes a thoracoplasty, something we didn't discuss during my initial appointment. I found the forum and discovered that it was a cosmetic procedure. I called Dr. Boachie's nurse and told her that I am perfectly happy with my rib hump and would prefer to avoid the thoracoplasty. She said it was a necessary procedure, because it would create more room for my lungs as well as providing bone graft material.
I have read over 70 posts on thoracoplasty and I am still confused. Some forum members talk about thoracoplasty as being the REMOVAL of ribs, sometimes as many as five or six ribs. Others seem to indicate that they had a segment of certain ribs removed. Does a thoracoplasty mean either the removal of the entire rib or a part of the rib? If an entire rib is taken, can it truly grow back?
I also wonder about the risks of a thoracoplasty. One post indicated that the chest cavity is smaller after this procedure. That runs counter to the idea of creating more room for my lungs, as explained by the nurse. A few people say that there will be lung complications down the road. If there has been any research conducted on thoracoplasty, I would appreciate learning anything you know about this procedure.
Thank you!
Ginger
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