I'm new here. I've been a member for a while but haven't posted. My scoliosis was identified in 1992 when I was 13 years old. In Jan 1993 I had my first spinal fusion and Harrington rods were put in place. The surgery was considered a success at the time. Unfortunately I kept growing
In 1995 I was having severe back pain so they investigated and ended up choosing to do exploratory surgery. In Jan 1996 (3 years almost to the day after my first surgery) they opened me up. They found that the tissue surrounding my rods was massively infected (they were actually concerned at the time that it was cancerous). They made the decision to remove the rods. When I awoke I had no rods but my curves were back to what they were when they were initially identified in 1992.
I was young when all this happened so I didn't really know what the numbers and figures meant. Even now I have limited information my scoliosis. What I know is listed below
1) thoracic scoliosis convex to the right centred on T9
2) Harrington rods (when in place) extended from T6 to T12
3) mild S thoracolumbar scoliosis with a thoracic concavity to the left of about 37 degrees and lumbar concavity to the right of about 25 degrees (this makes no sense to me - just copied from my medical records)
4) SLW T7 - T11 (again I have no idea what this means)
Separate (although connected) to my surgeries, I had an injury in March. An MRI showed that I have a herniated disc at L4/L5 and a prolapsed disc at L5/S1. This is gradually improving.
The reason that I've been prompted to write rather than just read is because I am now 3 months pregnant. My belly appears to have popped already (not sure if that is scoliosis related - I'm slim but not skinny) and I'm anxious about what my scoliosis will mean for pregnancy and birth. I recall being told in 1992 when I was 13 that I would be in a wheelchair by the time I was 25 and never be able to have children. From reading all your posts and other bits and pieces on the internet I think this was overly melodramatic.
I also wonder whether I needed surgery in the first place - but that's a whole different matter.
Thanks to everyone for their support on this!
In 1995 I was having severe back pain so they investigated and ended up choosing to do exploratory surgery. In Jan 1996 (3 years almost to the day after my first surgery) they opened me up. They found that the tissue surrounding my rods was massively infected (they were actually concerned at the time that it was cancerous). They made the decision to remove the rods. When I awoke I had no rods but my curves were back to what they were when they were initially identified in 1992.
I was young when all this happened so I didn't really know what the numbers and figures meant. Even now I have limited information my scoliosis. What I know is listed below
1) thoracic scoliosis convex to the right centred on T9
2) Harrington rods (when in place) extended from T6 to T12
3) mild S thoracolumbar scoliosis with a thoracic concavity to the left of about 37 degrees and lumbar concavity to the right of about 25 degrees (this makes no sense to me - just copied from my medical records)
4) SLW T7 - T11 (again I have no idea what this means)
Separate (although connected) to my surgeries, I had an injury in March. An MRI showed that I have a herniated disc at L4/L5 and a prolapsed disc at L5/S1. This is gradually improving.
The reason that I've been prompted to write rather than just read is because I am now 3 months pregnant. My belly appears to have popped already (not sure if that is scoliosis related - I'm slim but not skinny) and I'm anxious about what my scoliosis will mean for pregnancy and birth. I recall being told in 1992 when I was 13 that I would be in a wheelchair by the time I was 25 and never be able to have children. From reading all your posts and other bits and pieces on the internet I think this was overly melodramatic.
I also wonder whether I needed surgery in the first place - but that's a whole different matter.
Thanks to everyone for their support on this!
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