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19 Year Old Male. Scoliosis Progressing.

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  • John, I'm so happy for you! You finally catch a break. You deserve it.

    Best regards,
    Sharon
    Sharon, mother of identical twin girls with scoliosis

    No island of sanity.

    Question: What do you call alternative medicine that works?
    Answer: Medicine


    "We are all African."

    Comment


    • Yay for good news! Not sure exactly what it all means but I know you've done your research so it must be good. Really happy for you John, and who can forget November 11th... Remembrance Day. :-D
      Son 14 y/o diagnosed January 20th. 2011 with 110* Curve
      Halo Traction & 1st. surgery on March 22nd. 2011
      Spinal Fusion on April 19th. 2011

      Dr. Krajbich @ Shriners Childrens Hospital, Portland Oregon



      http://tinyurl.com/Elias-Before
      http://tinyurl.com/Elias-After

      Comment


      • Great news John. You must be able to see that light at the end of the tunnel now!
        Surgery March 3, 2009 at almost 58, now 63.
        Dr. Askin, Brisbane, Australia
        T4-Pelvis, Posterior only
        Osteotomies and Laminectomies
        Was 68 degrees, now 22 and pain free

        Comment


        • SO Happy for you, John!

          Warmly,
          Doreen
          44 years old at time of surgery, Atlanta GA

          Pre-Surgery Thorasic: 70 degrees, Pre-Surgery Lumbar: 68 degrees, lost 4 inches of height in 2011
          Post-Surgery curves ~10 degrees, regained 4 inches of height

          Posterior T3-sacrum & TLIF surgeries on Nov 28, 2011 with Dr. Lenke, St. Louis
          2 rods, 33 screws, 2 cages, 2 connectors, living a new life I never dreamed of!

          http://thebionicachronicles.blogspot.com/

          Comment


          • Hi, don't worry about shoes,socks, I am 5'8 and can not touch my toes or cut my toe nails, but I have NO pain, I had revision surgery in May, you will not get better on your own, so take your time and think about it and find the best Dr. you can.

            Comment


            • Originally posted by Pooka1 View Post
              John, I'm so happy for you! You finally catch a break. You deserve it.

              Best regards,
              Sharon
              Thanks. I really appreciate the kind words. I'm ecstatic.

              Originally posted by Elisa View Post
              Yay for good news! Not sure exactly what it all means but I know you've done your research so it must be good. Really happy for you John, and who can forget November 11th... Remembrance Day. :-D
              It means I can have revisional surgery to fix my unbalanced spine and non union (pseudarthrosis) at L1-L3, without having to extend the hardware. So just fix everything that can possibly be wrong with me now, without any complications or risks. Thanks again. I won't forgot it either, 11/11/11 lol.

              Originally posted by JenniferG View Post
              Great news John. You must be able to see that light at the end of the tunnel now!
              Yes, I sure can. Finally I'll be on the road to recovery and hopefully wearing a bone stimulator and brace, will help me fuse quickly and by 1 year, this time I'll really be able to get back into the gym!


              Originally posted by Doreen1 View Post
              SO Happy for you, John!

              Warmly,
              Doreen
              Thanks Doreen, appreciate it.

              Originally posted by Lue View Post
              Hi, don't worry about shoes,socks, I am 5'8 and can not touch my toes or cut my toe nails, but I have NO pain, I had revision surgery in May, you will not get better on your own, so take your time and think about it and find the best Dr. you can.
              Hmmm...not sure if you read all the pages (I don't blame you, it's 54 pages long), but I found the Dr. and I'm not extending past L3, so I should keep my flexibility as it is now. Thanks.
              John



              Again, thanks all. I'll keep you guys updated as we get closer to date.

              Comment


              • many, many congratulations, John...
                it's been a long journey for you...
                but it seems it will be well worth it...
                and now it looks like there is a real solution....and a plan to reach your goal
                very happy for you!
                and i bet the date 11-11-11 is a big lottery seller!
                must be lucky!

                jess
                Last edited by jrnyc; 10-03-2011, 08:34 PM.

                Comment


                • John

                  All right! Finally!

                  We are rooting for you!

                  Ed
                  49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
                  Pre surgery curves T70,L70
                  ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
                  Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

                  Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
                  http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

                  My x-rays
                  http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

                  http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

                  Comment


                  • Yahoo! That's fantastic news--long overdue! Janet
                    Janet

                    61 years old--57 for surgery

                    Diagnosed in 1965 at age of 13--no brace
                    Thoracic Curve: 96 degrees to 35 degrees
                    Lumbar Curve: 63 degrees to 5 degrees
                    Surgery with Dr. Lenke in St. Louis--March 30, 2009
                    T-2 to Pelvis, and hopefully all posterior procedure.

                    All was posterior along with 2 cages and 6 osteotomies.

                    Comment


                    • Thanks guys. I'm glad I'm not the only one who's excited lol. I'm very glad I found the right surgeon and we came up with a solid plan. I just have to be patient for the next 5 weeks, and enjoy the wedding, so I can finally get in the OR and fix my spine. Will keep everyone updated.
                      John

                      Comment


                      • John, maybe you could start a blog so as to keep your mind occupied for the next five weeks as well as write about your new surgery experience and how that is going. Add pics too! I always enjoy reading details of everyone's surgical experiences and I know others here do too. Of course you still have to post most of the details here too. ;-)
                        Son 14 y/o diagnosed January 20th. 2011 with 110* Curve
                        Halo Traction & 1st. surgery on March 22nd. 2011
                        Spinal Fusion on April 19th. 2011

                        Dr. Krajbich @ Shriners Childrens Hospital, Portland Oregon



                        http://tinyurl.com/Elias-Before
                        http://tinyurl.com/Elias-After

                        Comment


                        • I don't like sharing pictures lol. The scar looks nasty right after surgery. I'll take pictures and keep them to myself. And show as I return back to myself, and how I got straighter and X-Rays of course. I'll keep this thread as a blog. It's a damn long thread, but it acts like a blog pretty much. Has everything from Day 1 till now.


                          I stumbled across my old X-Rays before surgery! I had one in 08/08 and one in 09/09. I measured from T11-L3, was 42-43* in 08/08 and 50-51* from T11-L3 in 09/09. Cheng measured roughly 53*, give or take. I'm sitting very patiently, waiting for my surgery. But as good as it sounds, it's still a very big surgery, or surgeries I should say. I had a few questions and emailed my surgeon. I asked him about the hardware, I know a lot of people use SS or Titanium hardware, but I wanted to know what he thought of Cobalt-Chromium rods with titanium hardware. I also asked about Morphine. I heard a lot of people don't do well on Morphine, I remember taking Dilaudid, and it was the best medication in the hospital. Really helped with my pain and letting me sleep at night. He did say he was going to add a catheter, so my pain shouldn't be as bad as my first surgery, specifically the 2nd time I was opened up on the 31st, was brutal.

                          What do you guys think regarding the hardware? I don't want my spine to curve even to 10* after, I want it to stay neutral, so do you think the stiffest rods should be used or would titanium be fine?

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by JDM555 View Post
                            What do you guys think regarding the hardware? I don't want my spine to curve even to 10* after, I want it to stay neutral, so do you think the stiffest rods should be used or would titanium be fine?
                            This is a great question. I want to go to the meeting at UCSF on Dec 3rd, hopefully I wont forget this question.

                            I remember reading in the past that they do want a little bit of movement, otherwise they would just increase rod and hardware diameter and size. It seems that they could just throw some 1/2” diameter rods in there and it would never break regardless of a non-union. You do know that if you don’t fuse, your hardware is guaranteed to break, its just a matter of time.

                            Most or all of the pedicle screws used today are Titanium. Rods can be Vitallium, 316, Titanium, or alloys with varying amounts of Cobalt and Chrome. I have Synthes “Pangea system” which is all Titanium. Check out all the neat tooling. I know, sounds very Tim Allen. LOL
                            http://www.synthes.com/MediaBin/US%2...ngeaJ6418A.pdf

                            Since screws do go to 7mm, one wouldn’t want to go with the largest size just in case they need to do a revision and use a larger screw in the same hole. You would want that option.

                            The success of fusion seems to be in the technique, not the hardware selection.....people fuse without hardware, they did that 60 years ago when they used casts. Leave hardware selection to your surgeon.
                            Ed
                            Last edited by titaniumed; 10-06-2011, 11:32 PM.
                            49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
                            Pre surgery curves T70,L70
                            ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
                            Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

                            Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
                            http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

                            My x-rays
                            http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

                            http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

                            Comment


                            • Thanks for the reply Ed. The reason I ask about it is because many surgeons such as Lenke, Lonner, and Boachie use Cobalt Chrome instead of the traditional SS or Titanium Rods. I'm really surprised my hardware hasn't broke. I think it's crazy how I wasn't fused and have been in pain for over a year regarding my pseudarthrosis and hardware is fine. I wasn't really concerned about the screws, I was more concerned about the rods to support my spine and not progress in a matter of weeks, months, or years if my fusion takes however long to fuse. I have no idea what screws Cheng put in my back, but I'm worried that the reason L3 had a "problem", when he had to open me up again, was to add a larger screw (In terms of diameter). If that's the case, and it's loose, I'll need even a bigger screw to be added now. Most likely, I'll need larger screws in every other hole as well cause of the replacement of hardware, but like I said, that lower right being loose is a problem.

                              Again, I'm not concerned about picking rods so it increase the fusion rate. I think the BMP and stem cell approach will work for me, I'm more concerned about the stiffness of the rods and the progression of my spine. Spine doesn't fuse overnight, it takes months to a year to over a year. I don't want my spine to bend in the meantime. Basically, like what happened to me currently. With my lower 2 levels having a nonunion, the lumbar area curved a little in the past 2 years. My concern is, if I had something stronger such as Cobalt Chromium, would that of prevented the curving?

                              Comment


                              • John
                                Its hard to say if a particular material selection or diameter has anything to do with the outcome vs technique and level selection in the procedure....Many Harrington rods were used in the past without addressing each level....they were true bumper jacks. Dr Cotrel addressed this and made additional support devices to help with this in 1972. BTW, His autobiography “In the sands of Berck” is a great story about a great man. We owe him so much for his past 65 years of scoliosis research and inventing the CD system. He was the Steve Jobs of scoliosis, always looking for answers.

                                I have read articles about fusing from the front. It seems in difficult cases, it is necessary and it also balances out the fusion instead of just fusing only from the posterior. Anterior means from the front, or accessing the front, from the side.

                                Some material related info....
                                Read about stress shielding in this article. BTW, Zimmer made the old Harrington rods for many years for Dr Harrington.
                                http://www.zimmer.com/ctl?template=P...tion=1&id=9478

                                I have a TON of scoliosis related articles in folders....Hard for me to find some of this stuff sometimes! lol
                                Ed
                                49 yr old male, now 63, the new 64...
                                Pre surgery curves T70,L70
                                ALIF/PSA T2-Pelvis 01/29/08, 01/31/08 7" pelvic anchors BMP
                                Dr Brett Menmuir St Marys Hospital Reno,Nevada

                                Bending and twisting pics after full fusion
                                http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/showt...on.&highlight=

                                My x-rays
                                http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...2&d=1228779214

                                http://www.scoliosis.org/forum/attac...3&d=1228779258

                                Comment

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